


W.I.T.C.H.'S: Guardian of Shadows

by crocgirl9219



Category: W.I.T.C.H.
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Caleb is emotionally constipated, Caleb needs a relationship that's actually healthy, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fantasy Violence, I have a crush on Greg Cipes' voice, Mutual Pining, Non-Canon Relationship, Repressed Feelings, Serena is not a pack mule, Slow Burn, got that good shit, its a problem, shameless self insert, wat r tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 61,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24610618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crocgirl9219/pseuds/crocgirl9219
Summary: Serena has been floating through life ever since her parent's real estate company took off and they left her behind to run it. The arrival of a new girl at school sets incredible events in motion and reveals a previously unknown magic. Serena finds a new purpose in the Rebellion and in a certain rebel leader. Together with the other Guardians, she fights to bring Phobos down and is willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Pretty much the only CalebxOc in existence.
Relationships: Caleb/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	1. It Begins (with a bang)

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first published fic. I would really appreciate your thoughts and reviews to help me make the story better (also to fix any mistakes). Unfortunately my only grammer checker was Word because all the ones I found online only went 500 words and I was not about to piece apart the chapter. Gosh this was a nightmare, I hate writing but I needed this story out there so enjoy!

Bolts of jagged lightning streaked across the sky, briefly illuminating the dark abyss that surrounded Serena. The rain fell hard and fast, the drops felt like icy needles as they pelted her face. She was soaked to the bone and trembling violently as gusts of wind howled around her. Her shirt unstuck itself periodically with the wind only to plaster itself against her side in a new position.

She raised an arm to try and shield her eyes and peered through the torrent of rain. She could just make out the giant vines that encircled her. Some were as big and round as a school bus and they were covered in thorns that stood taller than her. They were topped with a wickedly sharp point and had rusty stains down their length that she dared not identify.

Lightning arched again and this time she could make out the silhouette of a building looming in front of her. She ran towards it desperately, nearly slipping in the thick mud that came up to her ankles. From what she could see, it was made of black stone which seemed to melt into the darkness between flashes of lightning. She squinted, struggling to keep the worst of the rain from her eyes. Another bolt of lightning lit up the structure and Serena skidded to a stop as the realization dawned on her. It was a castle! A legit, bona fide medieval castle that seemed to stretch endlessly into the sky. Her befuddled awe was squashed when she saw the thorny vines also covered the castle wall. A chill crept up her spine and she stepped back, wide eyes tracing the wall, looking for a hint of movement in response to hers. The castle had guard posts that jutted out of the wall in jagged peaks. This was a far cry from the fairytale castles in Disney movies.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she drew her eyes higher. Through the sheets of rain, she could just make out a brick falling through the air towards the ground. As she watched the brick fall, something familiar nudged at the back of her mind. As it fell its shaped changed. Her blood ran cold as the shape became a human being. She gaped at the bone chilling sight before stumbling backwards. She cried out as she lost her footing in the slippery mud and fell onto her back.

She tried to pick herself up, but the mud suddenly turned to stone. She started to hyperventilate as she jerked at her arms and legs trying to escape. The mud held fast even as she thrashed and bucked wildly, screaming like a feral animal. Her lungs heaved as her body jerked unbidden and went rigid, locked into position. Her screams turned into pathetic whimpers as her eyes darted around helplessly before falling on the person plummeting to their death. It was like the bitter cold from the wind and rain penetrated her and turned to ice. She couldn’t do more than twitch and her eyes locked onto the doomed figure. Bitter bile rose up and sat trapped in her throat. She was going to have to watch this person be impaled and there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t even close her eyes.

The wind picked up, whipping around her to the point that her eyes watered. The tears mercifully blurred her vision of the hellscape that surrounded her. A single tear fell from her eyes and all of a sudden, the world spun before her eyes and unfrozen, she dropped like a stone. The ground had gone from encasing her to being five miles below her. Her stomach lurched like it was tethered 10 feet behind her, worse than any rollercoaster. A scream was ripped from her throat but lost in the wind that rushed past her. On top of the wind she could hear her own rapid heartbeat thundering in her ears. Through the tears she saw the monstrous thorns growing larger the closer she came. The realization she was going to die pierced her through the heart. Soon she would be just another stain on those unforgiving thorns. No one would be around to witness the fate of one insignificant little girl.

Serena’s eyes shot open as she gasped, bolting upright in her bed. Her heart pounded against her ribs as the black faded from her vision. The pitch-black sky, enormous thorns and terrifying castle had been replaced by the off-white walls and decor of her bedroom. Her breathing started to even out as she took in the familiar features of her room. It was just a dream. She was safe.

Something grabbed her arm. “Are you alright Ms. Serena?”

She jumped, whirling around prepared to face... Bramwell standing over her. The kind wrinkles of his eyes were scrunched in concern as he surveyed her wide-eyed form. One of his knobby hands was resting on her shoulder.

“Jeezy criminy, you nearly gave be a heart attack,” she breathed, placing a hand over her chest to calm her racing heart.

“Apologies Ms. but it‘s time to prepare for school,” Bramwell gestured to clock on her white nightstand. 6:30am it read. “It was not my intention to startle you.”

Startle was an understatement. She felt sick to her stomach but mustered what she hoped was a convincing smile. “It’s okay, I was-” her voice wobbled so she cleared her throat. “I was just having a bad dream.”

Bramwell examined his charge, taking in the pallor of her skin as she trembled. Her hair was plastered to the nape of her neck in a cold sweat. He knew it had been much more than simply a bad dream. The poor girl had been suffering from unrelenting night terrors for the last few weeks. Having gone through a lot in the recent months, it was understandable that her troubles during waking hours had followed her into her dreams. He searched her watery dark green eyes, silently pleading with him to let it go.

He sighed, giving her a reassuring smile and rose slowly as not to scare her again. “If you say so Ms., ‘tis best not to linger on unpleasant thoughts. What do you say I fix some hot cocoa for breakfast?”

Serena visibly brightened up. “With pancakes?” she requested hopefully. Nothing in the world could top Bramwell’s hot cocoa plus a plate of his warm, buttery pancakes.

“But of course,” he nodded solemnly, as though the very thought of hot cocoa without pancakes was unthinkable. “I’ll be at the kitchen when you’re ready.” He gave her a soft squeeze on the shoulder before stepping out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Serena’s face fell. The iciness she’d kept at bay for Bramwell’s sake crept back in. Scenes from her nightmare flashed across her mind, her unseeing eyes staring blankly ahead. It had been one of the worst nightmares so far. One would think that after so long she‘d be used to them or that they would at least lessen their potency. Instead, it seemed like with each passing night her dreams got worse.  
Shaking herself out of it, she tried her best not to linger on the cursed scenes like Bramwell had said. Pushing them out of her mind, she pulled back her beige duvet and headed towards her bathroom. Perhaps a warm shower could chase away the cold that settled in her bones making her feel numb. Besides, nothing not even some stupid dreams were going to keep her from Bramwell’s hot cocoa.

* * *

Serena’s nerves had settled by the time Bramwell pulled the car in front of Sheffield Institute. The visions of her nightmare were only marginally less terrifying during the day, but she replayed them over and over again regardless. The fear may have slightly abated, but the images were no less blood chilling. For the past few months, she had dreamed almost nightly of being surrounded by darkness. Not of an empty void but of a blackness that seemed to pulse and flow around her like a living being. Last night was the first time anything had manifested out of the gloom. But what had sparked the change? The all-encompassing darkness she understood, given that it seemed to be a pretty good reflection of her mood these days. Not that she would ever let anyone see it. But the castle, the thorns, that had all come out of nowhere. And the person falling... she hadn’t been able to make out their face and yet... there was something familiar about them. A tingling of recognition at the back of her brain, like she had forgotten something, but it was right on the tip of her tongue.

The car door she had been leaning against opened abruptly and she nearly tumbled out of the car. She was saved from a face full of asphalt by the sudden jerk of her seatbelt against her chest.

“We have arrived Ms. Serena,” Bramwell’s lips twitched at the corner as he held the door open.

“Thanks for the warning,” Serena muttered as she wrestled the seatbelt off and slid out of the car.

“On the contrary, I announced our arrival several times.”

Serena glanced suspiciously at him from the corner of her eye. Catching the twinkle in his eye, a poorly suppressed smile stretched across her face. “Uh huh, sure.”

“Have a good day Ms. Serena.” He smiled wryly, reaching into the car to hand her backpack

“See you at home.” She waved before heading through the school gate and into the courtyard.

Sheffield Institute was not an old building per say but it had been around for a while. The cement stairs had 1905 stamped into one side. The school itself had been remodeled internally several times but they kept the old timely stone exterior. The founder of the school, Johann Sheffield, or “Old Man Sheffield” as most of the students called him, was represented in a stone carved statue in the center of the courtyard. It had been put up after his death and there was a rumor that went around the student body every Halloween that his ghost inhabited it. Only being released once a year on Halloween.  
She looked around the courtyard to see if any of her friends were already here, but she didn’t see them. That was probably for the best, she needed to find Hay Lin anyways so they could go over their presentation one more time. Why on earth Principle Knickerbocker had thought it was a good idea to have a science fair on the first day of school was beyond her. It was bad enough having to work on it over the summer let alone having to present on what was supposed to be the easiest day of the school year.

Holy crud the presentation! Serena faltered and nearly tripped over her feet when it finally hit her. She had promised Hay Lin she would set up their table for the project. She groaned as she realized Hay Lin was probably already there and wondering where she was. She picked up her pace, jumping up the stairs two at a time and speed walking into the building. It was fine, she just had to find Hay Lin before the judging started and- the bell rang over her head and she broke out in a run. -And now she was late!

Her backpack bounced against her side with every step as she raced through the hallways, dodging frantically around anyone in her path. She hesitated as she passed her locker but thought better of it and pushed forward. She had the papers for their poster board and Hay Lin had the poster board itself. They would just have to tape them on when she got to the gym. She had ten minutes before the judges start making rounds which means she could get everything out and ready by the time Hay Lin walked through the doors.

She skidded around a corner and nearly collided with some upperclassmen boys. She flanked the group and sprinted towards the gym doors at the end of the hallway. She could hear them whooping and cheering behind her, teasing her to go faster. Her cheeks heated and her stomach tightened with embarrassment. If she hadn’t have zoned out in the car, she could have been set up already.  
She lurched to a stop right before she hit the doors and tried to appear calm as she pushed them open and entered the gym. They had pulled out the blue event tarp and laid it over the floor to protect the basketball court. The project tables were set up on the perimeter around the gym and science posters hung from the ceiling and from the guardrail of the bleachers.

Serena forced herself to breathe through her nose as she panted, scanning the tables for her group number. She spotted number fourteen in the corner and tried to walk as quickly but as nonchalantly as she could. She spotted Cornelia’s signature blonde hair from across the gym. By sheer dumb luck they had gotten a table right next to Cornelia, Irma and Taranee’s project. As Serena got closer, she could see Cornelia was arguing with Irma... again.

“What did you do to the plant?!” shouted Irma gesturing wildly to a pink flower, as she glowered at her.

They had already set up their experiment and their poster was taped to the front of the table. One would think by now that all the professors would know not to partner Cornelia and Irma on pain of death. It was virtually impossible for them to go five minutes without arguing or spitting sarcasm like venom. Even Serena wondered how they were still friends at times. If she was being honest, it was most likely due to the mediating effects of their other friends Taranee and Hay Lin. Although, Serena thought as she approached their table, it looked like Taranee had started the fight this time.

“Cornelia our project is supposed to prove that too much fertilizer reverses osmosis, killing the plant,” Taranee scowled, crossing her arms. “Yours has grown like three inches!”

To her credit, Cornelia did not look the least bit phased by Taranee’s scolding. Serena was willing to bet she had heard their thesis reiterated at least a dozen times. She chuckled quietly at the thought. She loved Taranee but it took someone of a certain... caliber to be partners with her. She could nerd the four of them under the table any day of the week. The only reason she hadn’t already taken over the world was due to her anxiety. The poor girl was scared of everything including her own shadow.

Movement from the corner of her eye made Serena turned from the rather amusing sight of the quarreling trio to Hay Lin who had just sat her backpack on their table. Serena let out a breath of relief as Hay Lin started unpacking and setting up their model battery. She jogged the rest of the way to the table. “Hay Lin sorry I’m late. I’ve got the papers; do you have the poster board? I think I’ve got some tape in my backpack, but I ran past my locker so I’m not sure,” she spewed out a mile a minute.

“Woah chill out,” Hay Lin interrupted her, raising her hands in mock surrender. “I know you’ve been a little scattered lately with your parents and everything, so I grabbed some extra supplies just in case.  
Don’t worry about it.”

Serena’s shoulders slumped as the momentary adrenaline rushed out of her with a huff. “Thanks Hay Lin,” she smiled softly. Hay Lin had a knack for raising her spirts. With her endless optimism and bubbly attitude, it was hard to feel sad around such a joyful person. She had the incredible ability to look on the bright side no matter what the situation. Still, some things were beyond even Hay Lin’s ability to cheer. “I owe you big time. What do you say I do the presenting and then later we can grab some ice cream after school?”

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Hay Lin said brightly, sticking two thumbs up.

A particularly indignant screech sounded from Cornelia’s table. Serena rolled her eyes at Hay Lin who snickered and turned to see what it was this time. “What’s going on guys?” She asked, suppressing an exasperated sigh.

“Look at this!” Taranee pointed angrily at Cornelia’s pot which contained a single pink flower. Serena glanced at it. It looked like any old flower. “Uhh...”

“I told Cornelia to pack on the fertilizer,” Taranee continued, shooting Cornelia a look. “I found fifteen scientific sources supporting our hypothesis and according to them, it should have resulted in the death of the plant. Instead, it’s grown like three inches!” she raved.

Serena stepped around to their table, squatting down to get eye level with the plant. Now that Taranee mentioned it, the plant did look taller. She had been at Cornelia’s just yesterday and the flower hadn’t nearly been half as tall as it was now. The stem was strangely thick as well and had developed a rough texture. It looked more like a tree branch than a delicate green flower stem.

“What did you give it, Mutagen X?” Serena joked, glancing up at Cornelia.

“Yeah right,” she scoffed, leaning against the table. “I fertilized it’s little but off, but it still grew like a weed.”

Serena’s brows furrowed in confusion but before she could question her more Irma gasped, pointing at something behind her. “The judge!” she hissed.

Serena whipped around to see Principle Knickerbocker and the Heatherfield Community College professor she had invited as a guest judge walking towards them steadily. Principle Knickerbocker had made a big speech during open house last week. Going on about how the fair was “an excellent opportunity for students to display your ingenuity and critical thinking.” This was middle school, what did she need to worry about college for? She was only in 8th grade.

Nevertheless, she darted back behind her own table with Hay Lin. No need to risk Principle Knickerbocker’s wrath if she could help it. Taranee and Irma scrambled from behind their table. Serena had to spin in place to avoid Irma’s shoulder as she barreled past her to block their project from view.

Irma threw an arm over Taranee’s shoulder, nearly elbowing her in the face. She started to laugh loudly like Taranee had just said something hilarious. She jammed a finger in the African American girl’s side as Principle Knickerbocker passed. Taranee nervously started laughing when Knickerbocker turned to peer at them suspiciously.

“Do something,” Irma hissed back at Cornelia through a fake smile, her eyes tacking them and as they passed.

Cornelia glanced back at Serena and Hay Lin who just shrugged unhelpfully. She narrowed her eyes at the plant before raising her fist and pummeling the plant in an attempt to squash it.

Serena’s eyebrows rose and she glanced nervously from the violent sight to Hay Lin who did the same. Well, that was one way to go about it.

“Oh great,” grumbled Irma. Hearing the thuds behind her, she quickly guessed Cornelia’s plan. “You and your little girly fists are gonna cost us a ribbon.”

Cornelia shot Irma a dirty look behind her back but only punched harder. Serena doubted they would get much more than a participation ribbon, but she wasn’t about to tell Irma that. She was the most competitive out of all of them although Cornelia came in at a very close second. Unlike Cornelia however, Irma didn’t brag about winning, to their face anyways. The same could not be said for Cornelia. That girl would milk anything she perceived as a victory for days at the courtesy of the unfortunate loser. Not that Serena held losing against someone, but she wouldn’t wish Cornelia’s ego on anyone.

Serena surveyed the room until her eyes fell on Uriah Dun. He and Irma had been in some kind of perpetual contest since third grade. Every day he tried to entice Irma into something new and more often than not, something stupid. Once, he tried to challenge Irma to see who could drink from the water fountain the longest before spitting water. Thankfully, most of the time she just ignored him. Unless he happened to make a play on her pride and in that case, Serena and the others often had to drag Irma away kicking and screaming. Of course, it wasn’t like she wouldn’t enjoy seeing Uriah get his butt handed to him on a daily basis. She didn’t think anyone would object to that. He was even more unpopular than Martin Tubbs.

Cornelia pounded the flower again, digging the heel of her palm in for good measure before finally relenting. It had certainly been effective because the poor plant looked mangled beyond repair. The petals were ripped off and the stem had been pushed into the dirt to the point that it was barely visible. It was definitely shorter than the other flowers if nothing else. Cornelia grinned triumphantly at Serena and Hay Lin but then the plant twitched. The petals in the dirt quivered before attaching delicately to the flower head. Then the whole flower in unshriveled and stood back up good as new. Serena’s jaw dropped. It looked like nothing happened in the first place. In fact, the flower looked even taller than before! Cornelia’s wide eyes met Serena’s.

Serena blinked at the plant, eyes darting around as she replayed the image in her head. No, she hadn’t just made it up. How had that just happened? She tried to think rationally. Maybe the plant was just springy and bounced back after Cornelia hit it. She didn’t know what kind of flower it was, maybe that was natural. The sound of Uriah jeering across the room broke her bewildered stare.

“Hey, check out the new girl!”

Principle Knickerbocker had mentioned something about a new student during open house last week. However, Serena hadn’t expected to meet her on the first day back. She had short red hair and wore a baggy pink jacket over a rusty orange sweater. She walked shyly with her hands in her pockets and her shoulders hunched in an effort to appear smaller. She only looked up at Uriah when he called out her name. “Hey Wilma.”

“Uh, it’s just Will,” she corrected, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes before returning them to the floor.

“Ok. Wilma.” Uriah and his goons snickered like the bunch of idiots they were.

Serena pursed her lips as her eyes narrowed. She couldn’t stand that guy, barely tolerating him on a day to day basis. He lowered the collective IQ of any room he walked into. It was as if brain cells couldn’t stand that much stupid, so they’d rather self-combust than be in his presence. Luckily, she only had biology class with him, and she made sure to sit on the opposite side of the room.

Will ignored the demented hyenas but surprised Serena when she came to a stop in front of their table.

“That’s Uriah,” Hay Lin explained. “Just ignore him. It’s all you can really do.”

“Yeah you can’t fix that kind of stupid,” Serena added, looking at Uriah pointedly.

Irma sauntered up and leaned her hip against the table. “Evolution couldn’t,” she smirked. “One day we expect him to just slither back into the water.” Serena chuckled under her breath. There were occasions when Irma’s sarcasm was deadlier than her fists. Mercy on anyone she set her wits to. They got along pretty well in that regard. After all, what are friends except people who judge other people together?

Irma bowed low in response to their laughter. “Thank you very much, I’ll be here all week.”

Serena rolled her eyes but smiled at her friend’s antics. She turned back to the goon platoon just in time to see Clubber lean over the water fountain. He pressed the button, but the fountain shuddered and groaned in response. Instead of the water trickling quietly into the bowl, it burst from the spout and swirled in the air before splashing Uriah in the face.

Serena’s jaw dropped. What the heck was that? She glanced back at Irma who looked at her confused for a moment before laughing it off awkwardly. Serena looked around at the other presenters around the gym. No one else seems to have seen it. How could they miss water flying in the air though? She fumbled behind her for her chair. Maybe the lack of decent sleep was making her see things, she thought as she plopped down. Uriah didn’t seem to notice anything wrong. He was growling at Clubber for splashing him. It was probably just a stuck-up pipe suddenly pouring into the bowl and splashing over the sides. With the school’s budget management, she wouldn’t be surprised if most of the plumbing at Sheffield was half rusted through. She sighed, running her hands over her face. She needed to look into some sleeping supplements or something because this was getting ridiculous.

“Oh, Hay Lin I got your note.” Will’s eyes bounce between the five of them anxiously before settling on Hay Lin. “So, what time are we eating?” she asked politely, uncomfortably aware that she was the odd one out.

Cornelia leaned in to whisper in Taranee’s ear. “She invited new girl too?” She eyed Will up and down displeased.

“Cornelia,” Taranee hissed as Will’s eyes fell and she trailed a lock of her hair around a finger.

“Wait, invited Will to what?” Serena butted in, looking at Hay Lin concerned .

“Oh!” she gasped, snapping her finger. “I forgot to tell you when you came in. Grandma said I could invite you guys over for some snacks. We’re all walking to the Silver Dragon after school.”

“Oh,” Serena blinked. “Ok.” Serena cast her gaze on Will who was looking at her shoes dejectedly. “Yeah that sounds like fun. You’re going to love the Silver Dragon Will,” she assures with what she hoped was a welcoming smile. Will looked up and smiled gratefully in response.

* * *

Serena’s eyes swept around the table, briefly landing on each of her friends before returning back to the white tablecloth she was fiddling with in her hands. Her fingers ran over the navy-blue embroidery at the edge. They had chatted about anything and everything when they were walking from school to the Silver Dragon. She and Hay Lin had at least. Cornelia and Irma were too busy going head to head in Round 2. They hadn’t won the science fair because of Cornelia’s plant’s impromptu recovery. The judge had taken one look at the plant and the thesis printed on their poster board and moved on. Taranee had chucked the green participation ribbon they had been handed at the end of the fair into the garbage as soon as they walked out of the gym. She spent the entire walk to the Silver Dragon seething while occasionally muttering something under her breath. It was funny how the girl who was scared of everything could be so scary herself at times. Serena and Hay Lin ignored the bickering, Hay Lin told her about a new bolt of fabric and her plans for a funky new skirt. Will listened but didn’t say a word the whole way.

She still hadn’t and likely wouldn’t say anything now. As soon as they sat down the conversation petered out and everyone occupied themselves with something menial. Cornelia was pushing the fruit slices around her plate while Hay Lin chewed absentmindedly on the end of a pretzel. Serena caught Will’s eye for a second before she turned away sadly, feeling as if her presence was the reason for the awkward silence. She felt a pang of sympathy for her, her first attempt at making new friends and they all had to act like a bunch of weirdos. Serena looked incredulously at her friends. They were acting as if this was a super secret mafia meeting instead of an after school snack. She could just imagine Irma talking in a shabby Italian accent saying, “we don’t business outside the family,” as she held a cigar between her fingers.

Serena sighed and scanned the room; on the other hand, she didn’t know how to break the ice either so who was she to talk. She took in the red wallpaper and Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The Lin’s breakfast nook was sparsely decorated but heavily cluttered. Boxes, mugs, and other household knickknacks filled the shelf at the back of the booth. She’s pretty sure she spotted a bonsai tree hiding behind a tiny paper panel divider.

“HEY!” Serena nearly jumped out of her skin at Irma’s sudden shout. “Keep all that noise down!” She narrowed her eyes at Irma, placing a hand over her chest to make her heart stop racing.

The brunette looked around at everyone’s less than impressed faces and sighed, slumping back into her seat. “I was being ironic.”

“More like being annoying.” Serena yelped as Irma poked her in the side for the smart comment. She squirmed away from the offending finger and swatted at it.

Taranee reached out to steady her glass which wobbled thanks to the two of the, nudging the table as they tried to grab each other’s hands and secure them. “So, Will, where’d you go to school before Sheffield?” she finally asked politely, kicking under the table. Irma squawked in surprise more than pain when it connected. She pouted at Taranee as she soothed her hand over her abused shin. Serena just laughed harder but smothered it with her hand to hide it from Taranee. She didn’t want her own kick to the shin.

Will laughed quietly as the atmosphere finally started to loosen up and was about to answer but Cornelia interrupted her. “Hello, who cares? Have you guys noticed a bunch of weird things happening around me lately?”

Smirking, Serena opened her mouth, a sarcastic retort ready but Irma beat her to it. “Oh dear,” she gasped mockingly. “The conversation has accidentally wandered away from Cornelia’s life whatever we’re we thinking.” Irma grinned smugly as Cornelia huffed while everyone else laughed.

Serena’s laughter faded when she actually processed Cornelia’s question. “No guys for real, Cornelia’s right.”

The girls stared at her. “I never thought I’d hear you say that,” muttered Irma wide eyed. She raised her hand to Serena’s forehead to feel her temperature.

Serena batted it away with a roll of her eyes. “Seriously! Did you guys see what happened in the gym with Cornelia’s flower? That was so weird.”

“What did it do?” asked Irma skeptically.

Serena shared a look with Cornelia but when she hesitated Serena answered for her. “After Cornelia punched it just came back to life like someone had pressed a reset button or something.”

“It was totally fixed,” Cornelia added. “Like I never even touched it.”

“What kind of plant was it?” Serena asked Taranee.

“It was just a standard tulip. We got them at Lowe’s two weeks ago,” she explained, pushing her glass up her nose. “There was nothing special about them. Now the resurrection fern in the other hand...”

“Thank you, Ms. Encyclopedia,” Irma butted in before she could go on a tangent. “So, you’re telling me the flower spontaneously decided to unsmash itself?” She steepled her hands and nodded solemnly.  
“I doubt Cornelia even hit it that hard. She probably didn’t want to mess up her manicure,” she teased, smirking at Cornelia’s reddening face.

“Would you like to find out?” Cornelia bit out, shaking her fist in Irma’s direction.

Before Irma could reply with no doubt another sarcastic comment that would only serve to rile Cornelia up even further, the doors to the restaurant kitchen swung open. Yan Lin, Hay Lin’s grandma walked in, pushing a cart of leftover dishes. “Enjoying your food girls?” she inquired.

Serena looked down at her plate which was still full of uneaten snacks. “Yeah thanks,” she said quickly along with everyone else. She put a pretzel in her mouth for good measure. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Irma munching on some fruit while smirking at Cornelia. Saved by the bell.

Yan Lin smiled warmly at their reply until her eyes fell on Serena. “O-oh Serena what a... nice surprise,” she trailed off.

Serena’s averted her eyes. “Hi Mrs. Lin,” she greeted in a small voice. “Thanks for letting us come over.”

Hay Lin looked nervously between the two of them. For whatever reason, her grandma had never gotten completely comfortable around Serena like she had with her other friends. She had never outright said anything against Serena, but she could still feel the tension any time they were in the same room together. Mainly because her grandma always got a little shifty whenever Serena was around. Hay Lin couldn’t figure out why. Serena had always been nice to her and her family. She did feel bad that her friend had picked up on her grandma’s unease. Serena had gotten better at hiding it over the years, but she knew it still bugged her.

Yan Lin paused as she looked the icy blonde over. She suddenly remembered herself and plastered a wrinkly smile on her face. “Of course. Any friend of Hay Lin’s is always welcome.” She hesitated a moment before reaching onto the cart and gently placing a decrepit old box in the center of the table. “Say, would you mind being a dear and running to the kitchen? I forgot the plates for this dish.”

“Uh, I can go get them Grandma,” Hay Lin volunteered quickly.

Serena sighed. She could never for the life of her understand what about her made Yan Lin so nervous. It had been years since they first met but nevertheless, she tried to be as friendly as possible to try and ease the tension. She didn’t know what else she could do. “No, it’s okay, I can grab them. I’ll be back in a minute.” She shuffled out around Irma and headed towards the stairs that lead to the residence portion of the Silver Dragon.

She had been at the Lin’s countless times before for sleepovers, so she knew where to go. It also helped that the kitchen was right at the top of the stairs. She headed over to the set of cabinets by the  
fridge and pulled out a stack of plastic ceramic plates. They had a blue floral print on the rims and a waterside pavilion in the middle. There was a similar building in the indoor miniature garden in the restaurant. Serena let out a long suffering sigh at the prospect of facing Yan Lin again but took the plates and started back down the stairs. Anything she could do to get into the woman’s good graces couldn’t hurt.

About halfway down the steps she noticed something strange. The bottom of the staircase was dark, like unnaturally dark. Hugging the plates to her chest, she carefully descended another step, but the lighting didn’t improve. Squinting, she realized she couldn’t even see where the staircase ended. It was like someone had turned the lights off, causing the staircase to disappear into the void. But the upstairs kitchen lights were still on and should have been able to reach the bottom of the stairs. She crouched down slowly and gently placed the plates down, taking care not to let the plates clink together. She stood cautiously and stared at the darkness trying to figure out her next move. Before she could take another step, up or down, the darkness faded before her eyes revealing the red wallpaper and painted gold baseboards. She rubbed her eyes, black spots danced across her vision, but it was nothing like the depth of the darkness she’d just seen.

She heard Yan Lin’s voice from inside the breakfast nook, but it was muffled and passed over her as she stood silently, staring at the wall. That made three weird things she had witnessed today. She shook her head, maybe she really was losing her mind.

Gasps from the foyer brought her back to the present. If the inky blackness wasn’t enough of a clue, now she was sure something was going on. She started to tip toe down the stairs, placing each foot gingerly so the stairs wouldn’t creak. When she finally got to the bottom, she flattened herself up against the wall that separated the stairs from the foyer. She took a moment to steel herself, for what she didn’t know, and tentatively peaked into the foyer. Her eyes bugged out and in the back of her mind she was glad she had sat the plates down earlier.

Across the room and oblivious to her presence, Irma twirled her straw through the air. Serena’s breathing hitched as she watched the water from Irma’s glass follow the tip of the straw. It flew behind it in a coagulated steam, swirling through the air tranquilly. Something in her brain tingled with familiarity at the sight. Where had she seen this before? Then it hit her, the water fountain! The water from the fountain had flown in the air just like Irma’s water was now. Come to think of it, the fountain water had only moved when Irma had bowed and waved her hand. Focusing back to the scene, Serena stared in awe as Irma gathered the water into a ball hovering over the table. However, whatever control she had on it broke and the water ball quivered before it burst and fell into her cup, splashing over the rim.

“Ok then, alrighty,” Irma mutters to herself, looking just as confused as Serena felt. Serena’s brows furrowed, did that mean that Irma hadn’t purposely splashed Uriah earlier today? She looked nervous as she stared down at her cup, her straw held awkwardly in her hand. Serena had been friends with Irma for years and she had never seen her friend move water before. But then, how long had Irma been able to control water, and why hadn’t she told her?

“Taranee.” Yan Lin’s voice startled her out of her musings and her elbow accidentally knocked against the wall. Serena froze at the thump and waited with bated breath to see if anyone else noticed. An uneasy feeling crept up inside her at the fact that she was essentially spying on her friends. Friends she had shared everything with since kindergarten. Everything except her dreams that is. But whatever guilt she felt was replaced with budding curiosity when Yan Lin continued with, “I believe you have always been afraid of fire but focus now on the candle.”

Taranee flinched at the mention of her name but did as Yan Lin bid. She scrunched her eyes tight and shakily pointed her finger towards the candle in the centerpiece at the middle of the table. Serena gasped quietly when a tiny jet of red flame burst from the tip of Taranee’s finger. It missed the candle and instead, ignited the tip of a banana on one of the snake plates. The girls cried out in alarm at the rouge flame, but Irma just waved the water from her glass and put it out with a splash.

Serena sat back on the stairs. One minute after another, this day just kept getting weirder. The big question here was how did Taranee end up with fire powers? She wouldn’t even let her parent light her birthday candles out of fear of the house burning down. Taranee has always been something of a worrywart, she seemed to have more phobias than an insane asylum inmate. However, Serena had to empathize with her in this situation. Fire was dangerous. It burned, it hurt. Getting splashed in the face was one thing, getting a fireball to the face was quite another. There’d be little coming back from that. Though, after seeing Taranee’s diminutive display, Serena wondered if she could even create a full blown fireball.

“My little Hay Lin,” Yan Lin smiled fondly at her granddaughter. “This morning you noticed your power over air.” She held up a folded paper lantern in silent invitation. Hay Lin took a deep breath and blew. A gust of wind, more air than any human could produce, blew from her lips, and inflated the lantern.

From across the room, Serena’s hair lifted slightly as she felt the residual breeze on her face. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and held it to keep it still so it wouldn’t give her away. Something Yan Lin said stuck out to her. She said that Hay Lin first displayed her powers this morning. It would explain why she had never caught her using her air powers before. Slowly but surely the pieces were starting to come together in Serena’s mind. Today was the first day any of her friends had shown their powers! That was why she had never noticed anything strange happening before because it wasn’t there. For some reason, her friend’s abilities seemed to be triggering at once, but what was causing it? Why today of all days?

“To you Cornelia,” Yan Lin continued, “is given the powers over earth.” Serena’s eyebrows rose in surprise. That encompassed a lot. Earth could consist of anything from dirt to rocks... to plants. Like the flower in the gym, she remembered. Sure enough, Cornelia raised her hand over the small flowerpot in the center piece. At first nothing happen, but a few moments later, a tiny flower sprouted and began to grow at an unnaturally fast rate. The flower grew tall and thick, just like the one from the gym. Cornelia smiled excitedly, the first to actually look pleased with her powers, but then the pot began to tremble. Cracks appeared in the pot before the whole thing burst in a shower of dirt and wriggling roots.

“Don’t worry,” Yan Lin assured. “All five of you will get better with your powers... I hope,” she added as an afterthought.

Hay Lin raised her hand. “Uh did you say five?”

Serena’s Heart pounded against her chest. Only her and Will had not displayed an extraordinary new power. Could she possibly contain some kind of hidden powers too? She shifted anxiously behind the wall. As much as she wanted to step into the light and present herself, an instinct in her gut was telling her she should stay put. So, she waited and kept watching eagerly.

Everyone’s head turned to Will. “Um, hate to break it to you but I can’t even do that trick where it looks like your thumb comes apart.” She smiled nervously as she shoddily demonstrated her lack of skill with the thumb trick. “But if I ever have a party you guys are definitely the entertainment,” she said grinning at the other girls.

Serena’s brows furrowed in confusion as Yan Lin placed a hand on Will’s shoulder. “One of the five binds the others and with the Heart of Kandrakar, unites them. Summoning and magnifying their powers.” Yan Lin reached into the center of the table and opened the box she’d brought in, pulling out what looked like a necklace. Serena strained to see around Yan Lin, leaning out from beyond the wall as far as she dared. It consisted of a round pink crystal cradled in a wire frame on a thin, silver chain. It could have been an ordinary piece of jewelry if not for the fact that the crystal shown with a pink glimmering light. Yan Lin released the necklace but instead of falling to the ground, it started to flash and hover in midair.

A floating necklace, Serena scoffed silently. Why not?

The necklace flew away from Yan Lin’s open palm, circling the girls above their heads before it came to hover in front of Will. The light that seemed to be emanating from within the crystal flashed and an odd twinkling chime accompanied it. The crystal’s light slowly faded in intensity as it settled softly around Will’s neck.

Serena’s heart dropped at the sight. What made Will so special? she thought bitterly. She had been friends with the other girls since forever. If anything, she should have been the one to miraculously develop powers as well, seeing how it seemed the magic had stayed within her friend group. Some new girl showed up one day out of the blew and now all her friends had superpowers but her. A chill ran down her spine at the realization. Today was the first day her friends had powers, today was Will’s first day at school... Serena turned from the light and the sight of her friends and slumped against the wall. So, Will was the trigger, the source of all their wonderful newfound magic. And once again, Serena was left in the wake of someone else’s greatness. She sniffed at the reminder of her parent’s absence. Wiping her nose on her arm, she wished desperately that she had been the one the crystal had chosen.

At the sound of screaming, Serena whipped her head around and peaked out from behind the wall. The Heart of Kandrakar was jerking around Will’s neck, straining against its chain. It flashed and chimed erratically as it struggled to pull away from Will. She gripped the chain hard at the back of her neck, trying to keep it from digging into her skin. She managed to work the necklace over her head and chucked it away from her.

The Heart sailed towards the center of the room before it froze in midair. It hovered quietly for a moment before suddenly turning and whizzing around the girl’s heads at high speeds. They gasped in alarm and tried to take cover under the table. All five of them managed to squeeze together but Will was pushed towards the side, almost out from under the table. Taranee had one of the snack trays and was using it as a shield for her face as she coward behind it.

“Grandma what’s happening?” Hay Lin cried out, clutching Cornelia’s shoulders for dear life. Yan Lin didn’t answer but stood crouched against the side of the booth staring at the Heart.

The Heart suddenly came to an abrupt halt. A black spec appeared in the crystal and it began to shake violently. The light that emanated from the crystal gradually darkened as the black spot grew until the entire crystal was enveloped in a midnight purple light. The magical chimes the crystal had made before was replaced by a horrible screeching noise. It sounded like a thousand nails on chalkboards.

Serena flinched back at the grating sound and slammed her hands over her ears as tight as she could to block it out. Her sudden movement caused her to become unbalanced and she accidentally fell out of the shadows of the staircase and onto the floor of the foyer. She curled up into a ball on the tile floor, tucking her head into her knees to try and further block the sound. She might as well have done nothing because the screeching sounded as if it was coming from inside her own head. She looked up but the deranged wailing was disorientating, and she couldn’t focus on one spot in the room. Blinking rapidly, she managed to settle her eyes long enough to see the black Heart come shooting straight for her head.

Abandoning her ears, she scrambled to her feet to dodge the malicious jewel. It kept flying at her face as she tried to duck away from it. Her hair was getting into her eyes and it was getting harder to see which direction the Heart was coming from. Unknowingly, she was being driven further into the center of the room and into the view of her friends who were quivering under the table. Their hands were clasped over their ears in a useless defense against the screeching. They watched, frozen in fear as Serena tried to swipe at the necklace to get it to stop. It evaded her reach and continued its relentless onslaught. Serena surrendered to the inevitability that she was going to be hit and raised her arms to at least block her face.

But the brutal pain she expected never came. Instead, a cool feathery feeling, like the breeze from a fan at the end of its reach, surrounded her hands. She heard the girls gasp, but it took a few seconds of silence before she could bring herself to open her eyes and assess the damage. Her outstretched hands were engulfed to the wrists in... darkness? Her hands were covered in a black energy that ebbed and flowed around them like an inky mist. Her hands were still visible, but it was as if they were under tinted glass. Seen, but obscured.

Her eyes flashed to the necklace, but it had stopped its ear piercing shrieks and bobbed serenely in the air in front of her. The crystal was still black, but it didn’t look like it was about to go haywire again. The dark purple light had stopped its flashing and flowed gently over the surface of the crystal in ripples. Eyeing the crystal, Serena tentatively brought her arms down, examining her hands in stunned curiosity. She turned them over. She could feel only the slightest resistance against the energy, like moving your hands through lukewarm water. There was no real sensation except the feeling of movement between her fingers.

Experimentally, she waved her hand and stared in awe as the energy followed her fingers like a wispy glove. Wiggling her fingers, her lips twitched as the energy curled and dissipated around them. She flickered her wrist and was startled when the dark energy slipped off her hands and flew to the corners and crevices of the room and settled there. She blinked and stared at one such corner. For a brief second, something had looked off, almost out of focus. As if the lighting had been weird before the energy flew back.

“That was so cool!” Serena jumped, startled out of her daze, and turned to see who had spoken.

Her friends were all staring at her, slowly starting to crawl out from underneath the table. Except for Hay Lin. She was already on her feet, hands clenched excitedly by her face and sporting a giant grin. “I mean it was terrifying there for a second but Serena, you’ve got shadow powers!”

“What?” Serena asked dumbly.

“You’ve got power over the shadows!” Hay Lin slid out from behind the table, rushing to stand in front of her. She bounced on her feet as she eagerly explained. “When you raised your hand to block the necklace, all the shadows in the room flew over to your hands. It was so weird, everything looked like it was in a tv show. Well the animated ones, not so much the 3D ones.”

Serena looked between Hay Lin’s smiling face and the rest of her friends. Will and Irma looked at her with surprise more than anything else. However, Taranee and Cornelia glanced at each other then back at her warily. Serena’s face fell. Any budding excitement at her ‘shadow powers’ as Hay Lin called them, was washed away by the grim thought that her friends might be afraid of her. She had been terrified by the Heart’s sudden change in temperament that resulted in her manifesting her powers. She could see how it could be interpreted as a bad sign. Incessant wailing didn’t usually bode well in most situations. But nothing bad had happened, she hadn’t hurt anybody, and the screeching did stop. How harmful could shadows, which weren’t inherently physical, be compared to drowning in water or being burnt alive? Technically, all of their powers could be used to do terrible things. That’s what natural disasters were after all, the forces of nature with deadly consequences.

As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, the Heart gave a twinkly chime. Serena froze, every muscle tense with adrenaline in case it was about to go on another rampage. Instead, the blackness slowly faded from the crystal, returning to its baby pink color. It chimed musically and quietly flew back over to Will. She flinched but it simply settled on her shoulders as if it had never left in the first place.

“Okay...?” Irma drawled. “So, do we all get theme colors or was this onetime thing?”

“Does this mean Serena’s a Guardian too?” Taranee asked sitting back in her seat. The other girls did the same and Hay Lin grabbed Serena’s hand to lead her back to the table. Serena did another once over of her friends as she sat down. They looked a lot calmer now which was reassuring. If there’s one thing Irma was good at it was breaking the ice.

“Of course!” Hay Lin answered. “It makes total sense. Earth, fire, wind, water and then light and shadows.” She counted her fingers as she listed off each element. “Will gets light with the Heart of Kandrakar and Serena gets shadows. All the features that make up nature, right Grandma?”

Serena turned towards Yan Lin confused. What’s a Guardian?

Yan Lin seemed as if she hadn’t heard her granddaughter’s question. Instead of answering her, she stared hard at Serena with a strange look in her eyes. Serena folded in on herself under her unwavering gaze. She knew Yan Lin wasn’t her biggest fan but now she was staring at her like she was trying to figure out if she was real. It seemed like every five minutes there was a new reason for her to doubt her powers. Was she not supposed to have powers? Was that it? Yan Lin had sounded pretty final with that whole “one of the five unites the other four” thing. Serena made six.

“Grandma?”

Yan Lin jerked out of whatever daze she was in and finally looked at Hay Lin. “Oh. Uh, yes! Yes, the sixth Guardian! Light and shadows, everything in balance. Well done Hay Lin,” she rambled. She smiled reassuringly but to Serena it looked more like a grimace.

Hay Lin squealed happily regardless. “This is so exciting! We’re gonna be superheroes! Ooo we should come up with a team name! Something cool like-“

“Uh recap,” Taranee interrupted Hay Lin’s celebration. “We’ve got to protect the world from evil by repairing holes in some kind of veil?” she asked skeptically.

“This doesn’t involve sewing does it?” Cornelia sighed, resting her head against her hand disinterestedly.

“Wait a minute what veil?” Serena asked looking back and forth at them.

“Oh, you weren’t here for that part.” Irma realized. “So there’s this planet called Metamoor that’s ruled by a mondo evil prince dude and the whole place is cut off from the rest of the universe by a Veil, I’m guessing it’s like a magical wall, but sometimes it gets holes in it and it’s our job to close them or else super evil stuff will come through to our world,” she rambled all in one breath.

Serena blinked at her, tilting her head in confusion. She had processed about every other word from that whole spiel. “So, we’re going to space?”

“I think it’s more of a different dimension kind of thing,” Taranee answered for her.

“Ok...? And the Veil is...?”

“Well the holes are portals so the Veil must be an inter dimensional force field surrounding and containing Metamoor.” Taranee looked at Yan Lin for approval but she just nodded her head absentmindedly.

“Of course,” Serena blinked. She was starting to think she was out of her depth here. There was obviously a lot more going on than just spontaneously developing magic powers. Might as well jump in headfirst. “So, when do we start this Veil closing business?” She crossed her arms, looking up at Yan Lin.

“You already have,” she said reluctantly, not meeting her eyes.

“Why tell us all this now grandma?” asked Hay Lin.

Yan Lin took a deep breath and steeled herself. There were more important things to worry about now. “There is a rebellion in the capital city of Meridian,” she said gravely. “Their leader is in danger. I fear a dark and difficult time is coming. Many good people will need your help. Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay-Lin, and...” she hesitated, “...Serena. You have been chosen as the new Guardians of the Veil.” She would meditate on this unfortunate event later but right now the girls needed all the guidance they could get. The situation had not been as desperate when she was a guardian.

Serena glanced at Will across the table. She was staring blankly at the Heart, running it through her hands. She had only just moved to Heatherfield and now she was supposed to fight in some war in another dimension? On top of that, she had to lead a bunch of girls she hardly knew against an evil that’s been wreaking havoc for who knows how long. Despite how happy she was to have powers and be included, Serena knew they wouldn’t stand a chance as they were now. Everything they’d shown so far had been parkour tricks, how we they supposed to battle an army? She was fourteen and now she was supposed to help topple a tyrant.

Will stood suddenly. “I’m sorry it’s too much.” She lifted the necklace off and sat it on the table, pushing it away. “I can’t do it.”

“Will we don’t have a choice,” Irma insisted. “Meridian needs our help!” She pumped her fist determinedly. She had never been one to back down from a challenge. Unless of course the challenge consisted of a history test. Or any test for that matter.

“Are you sure we don’t have a choice? This seems like an awful lot of work,” Cornelia complained.

“Cornelia we can’t just sit back and do nothing.” Hay Lin argued. “With great power comes great responsibility,” she said sagely. The girls looked at her weird in response. “I heard that in a movie once,” she blushed, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Hay Lin is right,” Yan Lin placed a hand on her shoulder. “The responsibility has passed to you; it is your duty.”

Suddenly an idea came to Serena’s mind. “What if we did a test run? We could get a grip on our powers and decide from there.” She had a distinct feeling they were in this for the long haul. In spite of the weirdness from the Heart earlier, Serena was eager to give her powers another go. She wanted to see what she was truly capable of. This was the most interesting thing that had happened to her since her parent’ company took off. They could control the forces of nature for goodness sake. There was so much potential. She wasn’t about to give up her first chance at happiness in months without a fight. She was done sleepwalking through life and thinking wistfully about the past. It was time to get a grip.

“Statistically speaking, the more trials undergone in an experiment the greater probability of success,” Taranee spoke up, pushing her glasses up her nose. “If we practice our powers we can only get better.”

“Come on Will,” Hay Lin urged. “We need you on this. We can practice with our powers before we do anything drastic. Please,” she clasped her hands under her chin, giving her best attempt at puppy eyes.

Will looked apprehensively at her and the rest of the girl’s pleading faces before sighing. Despite being the supposed leader, she had clearly been outvoted. “Ok, I guess one practice round wouldn’t hurt.”

Irma, Hay Lin, and Serena cheered while Cornelia rolled her eyes and huffed at the prospect of work. Will turned back to Yan Lin who nodded proudly. Will gave a nervous smile but reached for the Heart, gingerly placing it back around her neck.

“But where are we going to practice at where we can’t be seen?” Taranee asked.

Right, she had forgotten about that. If anyone saw them using magic, they’d either be sent to the loony bin or kidnapped by a secret government agency. Serena tried to think back through the fog that had been the last two months, searching for a suitable place to practice.

Irma gasped beside her, snapping her fingers. “Guys I know just the place.” Serena swallowed hard at the wicked grin that stretched across her face.

* * *

“How on earth did you find this place?” Serena scanned Irma’s ‘secret’ practice location skeptically. They were right under the downtown Heatherfield bridge next to the pier. One on side of them was the Pickerington River which dumped into Martin Bay further down. On the other side was a brick wall which enclosed the warehouse district.

“Don’t worry about it,” Irma waved her off, dropping her backpack against the wall. “It’s the perfect place to practice our powers.”

Serena dropped her backpack on the ground beside Irma’s. This place was shaky at best. While the bridge overhead may offer them some cover, they were still exposed on all sides. The wall blocked the view from all but the upper stories of the warehouses but the office buildings across the river had no such obstruction. They were a large distance so hopefully if anyone looked out the window, they‘d barely be discernible as people. When said people started throwing around the elemental forces of nature on the other hand, they’d probably stand out a teensy bit more. They would be relying on distance, partial cover, and sheer dumb luck to hide. Not a good combination.

“Irma there is no way this going to work,” Serena voiced her doubts.

“Sure, it will, besides if anybody does see us, we’ll be the size of ants, so it won’t matter,” she assured flippantly. “We can practice our powers, and no one will be any wiser.”

“You know I still don’t believe any of this stuff,” Cornelia interjected. “No offense to your grandma of anything but she’s like completely diluted,” she told Hay Lin, tapping her forehead. “Probably not enough Vitamin D.

“What the heck Cornelia?!” Serena exclaimed, looking at her indignantly. Who insults someone’s grandma like that?

“What? There is no way any of this is real,” she crossed her arms.

“What about the flower that grew when you just looked at it? And the water in Irma’s glass, and the picture Yan Lin drew in the air?” Taranee reminded her.

Serena nodded along to Taranee’s statement until that last part. “Wait, what picture?”

“Magic tricks,” Cornelia dismissed. “Ten bucks on the internet.”

“Oh sure, let me just google how to make shadows fly across the room. I bet they’ve got tutorials on YouTube.” Serena pulled her flip phone out of her pocket, waving it at her mockingly.

Cornelia just rolled her eyes.

Serena sneered at her behind her back. She only had a limited amount of patience for Cornelia’s attitude and her daily allowance was quickly running out. The only reason they were still friends was because they lived on the same street and had grown up together. Serena lived in the neighboring plaza and they used to yell at each other from across their balconies as kids. Their parents had put a quick stop to that. However, just because she’d known Cornelia most of her life didn’t mean she tolerated her selfishness any better. The girl was a drama queen on the best of days and a brat on the worst. By now she and the other girls could mostly ignore her constant bitterness but there was only so much a person could take.

Ignoring the bickering blondes, Will reached into her coat pocket, and pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar. On the walk to the bridge Taranee had raised the question as to how they would keep the Heart a secret. It wasn’t just a really gaudy piece of jewelry, it also glowed and made noise. Not exactly the most inconspicuous of things. They decided it would be best if Will kept it in her pocket or her bag. That way it could be close at hand without risking it being discovered.

Serena took in the Heart silently before Will gingerly placed it around her neck. She didn’t blame her for being overly cautious. She didn’t think any of them wanted a repeat performance of the crystal’s freak out back at the Silver Dragon.

When the crystal settled against Will’s chest it began to glow brighter. Shining much more intensely than it had at the Silver Dragon, the Heart floated off Will’s chest and chimed loudly. “W-wOAH!” Will’s body followed the crystal, rising from the ground and hovering in midair.

Serena’s jaw dropped and she stepped back reflexively. The Heart’s bright pink light grew until it pulsed, sending a wave of warmth over... no not over, through Serena. She felt a sharp twinge in her chest and winced, pressing her hand against the ache. Despite the pain, she kept her eyes locked on Will and the Heart.

The pink light engulfed Will to the point that her silhouette could barely be seen. Will was trying very hard not to scream but there was a sound building in her throat, rising from deep within and demanding to be set free. She clamped her teeth to try and keep it in, but the words ripped themselves from her lips. “Guardians unite!”

Serena could have sworn she had heard Will shout something and her lungs seized.

A horrible thought came to her. What if the crystal was hurting Will? Her blood went cold as she remembered the horrible screeching that had seemed to rip through her mind back at the Silver Dragon. She had thought her skull was going to split from the pressure. “Guys...?”

Streams of light burst from the Heart and streaked towards them. She watched as the light changed color as it circled her friends before engulfing them like it had Will. “Guys!” Her eyes widened as one by one her friends were captured in balls of light. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bolt of purple light coming straight for her. “No!” She stumbled backwards and turned to run, but the light encircled her before she could take more than a step.

Instead of causing pain, the light cushioned her, wrapping around her body like a barely there blanket. It radiated warmth that enveloped her as if it were steam from a hot shower. Her breath hitched as her feet were lifted out from under her, but the light supported her weight, cradling her in the air. Her body instinctively moved into a fetal position. Her eyes were closed, she didn’t remember closing them, and her eyelids went red from the overpowering light. The twinge in her chest came back and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her chest felt tight like when she choked in class but didn’t want to cough in front of everybody. The light intensified and whited out her vision as the tightness in her chest burst. While the warmth was soothing, an even more refreshing cool flooded through her. The light faded and her eyes opened as her feet hit the ground.

She worked to blink dark spots from her eyes but as far as she could tell nothing had happened. She could still hear the river behind her and the bridge traffic above her. They were still in Heatherfield, although, she didn’t know what she had expected. The only thing she could discern was a tingly feeling in her fingertips and a chill deep in her bones. It wasn’t uncomfortable, more like the refreshing chill she gets when she flips her pillow over in the night.

“Holy cow.” Will took the words right out of her mouth. Holy crap, Will!

Serena whipped around, frantically searching for the redhead. “Will! Are you okay? Are you guys okay...” her voice trailed off as she finally spotted Will.

“What?” she asked as Serena gawked at her. Her eyes rested on Serena’s shocked face briefly before bright colors in her peripheral drew her eyes downward. “Oh.” She looked down at her own body and saw that similar changes had been made to herself.

Serena tore her eyes from Will down to herself. Her black and white shirt and blue crop top had been replaced by a pink one shoulder crop top. Opposite of the sleeve the neckline curled into a crescent shape under her left collarbone. Her bare arm was wrapped in crisscrossing blue ribbon tied with purple beads that dangled on the outside of her wrist. Her jean capris were gone too and in their place was a turquoise high-low skirt and green and blue striped tights. Instead of her grey tennis shoes, purple boots stretched up her calf, ending just below her knees. “Holy cow,” she echoed breathily.

“You know somehow I cannot imagine your grandma wearing that.” Serena looked up at Irma’s voice who was examine Hay Lin’s outfit with a skeptical eye. Looking around, they were all wearing versions of the same outfit though Irma, Cornelia and Hay Lin had a blue top with a pink skirt of varying length. Will’s shirt had bell sleeves while Taranee’s shirt was sleeveless and she wore boy shorts instead of a skirt.

Something else was tingling at the back of Serena’s brain as she stared at them. She could have sworn Will was taller than Hay Lin. Looking closely, she realized that they all looked taller. Cornelia looked like she could rest her chin on Serena’s head. It was more than that though. They’d been string beans before the Heart’s transformation. Now, they had curves, she realized as she ran her hands down her sides. Cornelia looked like she’d stepped right out of Teen Vogue, not that Serena would ever tell her that.

“Hey guys? Does anybody else feel... older?” She didn’t exactly feel older per say but boy did she look it.

“Oh my gosh!” Irma gasped delightedly as she twirled, looking over her new body. “Man, this is a good look for me.”

“What have we got behind us?” Hay Lin exclaimed, twisting her neck, her voice squeaking with barely restrained excitement.

Serena turned to look at Hay Lin, eyes narrowing then widening at gossamer structures sticking out of her back.

“What have we got in front of us?” Cornelia ogled herself with glee as she came to the previous realization Serena had.

Hay Lin ignored her. “They’re wings! We’ve got wings!”

Serena stretched her neck to look behind her, a carbon copy of Hay Lin’s wings were jutting out from between her shoulder blades. They did kind of look like wings though, instead of having feathers like a bird’s, they were see through and shiny. Similar to those of an insect’s but without the crinkly, veiny look. They almost reminded her of a butterflies’ wings.

“They can’t be wings,” Will scoffed, flapping the wings experimentally. “If they were wings, if we went like this, we’d- AHH!” Sure enough, she rose into the air albeit not very gracefully. She had somehow managed to turn upside down even as she flew upwards.

“Aw man I hate heights.” Taranee's shoulders slumped at the sight. “I get dizzy in high heeled shoes,” she protested.

Hay Lin beamed and shot into the sky like a rocket. Unlike Will, she was a natural, most likely due to her affinity for air. She zoomed past Will, who was still trying to get upright, and into the open air. She did loops and corkscrews and a whole host of other aerial maneuvers. She ducked and weaved and turned in the air on a dime.

Serena felt like she’d get whiplash just from watching her. She panicked internally when Hay Lin rushed past the cover of the bridge and she lost sight of her for a few seconds. She could be seen! Her throat closed up at the thought. Then Hay Lin reappeared on the other side of the bridge, skimming the surface of the river with a whoop of joy.

Serena let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. That girl was going to give her a heart attack one day. Her nerves were still shot but the sight of her friend well and good was enough for her to turn her attention towards her own wings. She scrutinized them, eyes tracing the stiffer black outer membrane and the individual petal shaped lobes that made up the wings. Each wing had four and they were green with blue at the edge and a long black tip at the end. She flexed her shoulders, testing the pull of the muscles. Nothing felt out of place, although she wasn’t sure what new muscles would feel like compared to her old ones. She tried tilting her shoulders back in an effort to flap but the wings only followed the movement. She huffed in frustration. She tried visualizing the mechanics in her mind as she analyzed them. They didn’t seem to have a joint like most birds which would limit her wings to a primarily up and down motion like an insect’s. She imagined them flapping like a dragonfly’s wings, stiff with rapid movement.

Her body lurched forward as her wings suddenly started flapping. Her arms pinwheeled as she tried to regain balance as she rose a few feet off the ground. “no nO NO!” She felt weightless like she was riding a rollercoaster, the characteristic butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She couldn’t figure out how to straighten out like Hay Lin, every move she made upset her balance even more. She started to tip forward and began to wish she were still on the ground. Suddenly, her wings stopped, and she fell back to earth, landing hard on her butt. “Oww,” she groaned. She pulled herself to her feet despite the ache radiating through her legs.

Irma clutched her stomach as she bent over laughing. “This totally rocks,” she gasped for air and wiped a tear from her eye. Serena scowled at her, but she just smirked before finally sobering up. “Do something else.”

Serena gave her one last look before summoning her power. Unlike back at the Silver Dragon, shadows were less abundant out in broad daylight. The sun was shining, reflecting off the water and seemed to illuminate every nook and cranny. There were shadows on the underside of the bridge, but they were thin and hazy. She somehow knew they’d be weaker compared to the deeper shadows of the dark stairs. She had a feeling that the darker the shadows, the stronger they’d be.

“How am I supposed to use my powers if there are no shadows around?” She gestured wildly.

“I don’t know,” Irma shrugged, rolling her eyes.

“Try that again, you might find a brain back there,” Serena quipped.

“Oh haha. Taranee’s the one that can create fire out of thin air, ask her.”

“I don’t know how, it just happens.” Taranee’s voice shook as she watched them anxiously. “I’d really rather it not.”

Serena‘s mouth pressed into a hard line. If Taranee could summon fire from nothing, then there had to be more to their powers than just manipulating the environment around them. She remembered the chill that came when she touched the shadows and the rush of coolness she felt when she transformed. Now that she thought about it, she could still feel the lingering cold, but it was muted to the point that she barely noticed it. It was weird, feeling a temperature on your insides but not on your outside. Like with her wings, she imagined the chill traveling from her core to her hand. She felt a tingling in her palm and pushed.

A ball of curling, smokey shadows appeared in the palm of her hand, black as night and fading into wisps at the edges. With a wide grin she spread the shadows to her other hand. An idea sprang to mind, and she brought both hands together and pushed again. A torrent of shadows burst from her hands and blasted into the ground. The force of the expulsion sent her back into the air. She flailed for a second before she managed to kickstart her wings in time to save her from another hard landing. She settled back onto the ground a lot smoother than she did last time.

“Woah,” her friends gasped in awe.

Serena put her hands on her hips triumphantly. “Taranee you’re up.”

Taranee looked at her anxiously before cautiously pointing a wobbly finger at the ground. Instead of a tiny stream of flame, this time a full blown fireball burst from her fingertip. The fire ball shot into the air, swirling around erratically. Serena nearly had to hit the dirt as the fire came whizzing over her head. The fireball suddenly veered to the left and flew straight down, crashing into the ground near Cornelia and throwing her off her feet.

“See! That’s exactly why I don’t like fire,” Taranee whimpered as the fire continued to burn the impact sight.

Cornelia blew her hair out of her face, her eyes widening when she saw how close she was the fire. She scrambled to her feet and stumbled back from the flames. “Irma you’re water, put it out!”

Irma, following Serena’s earlier example, extended her hands together to direct a blast of water at the fire. Instead, a stream of water materialized and shot off. Like Taranee’s fire it whirled uncontrollably in the air. The intention of its creator eventually caught up with it and spun over to quench the fire with a splash. Simultaneously splashing all over Cornelia.

Cornelia growled, turning towards Irma who backed away sheepishly, her hands raised in surrender. “You’re so lucky there’s no soil or plants here so I can’t do my thing.” She stomped, frustrated at the weed covered gravel underfoot. “Like y’know, earth rise towards me or whatever.” She pointed sarcastically at the ground and to her surprise, it began to rumble a moment later. Serena’s knees nearly buckled as the ground shook in a mini earthquake. She briefly considered attempting to fly again to escape the tremors and regain her balance.

Before she could set her mind to it, a giant cactus and several flowers erupted from the ground where Cornelia had pointed, knocking the poor girl down again. Cornelia stared up in awe at her creation but then her eyebrows furrowed as she felt something wet on the back of her hand. She glanced down to see a worm wriggling on her hand and screamed in disgust. She jumped up and ran from the worm and whatever else might come up from the dirt. She raced towards the bridge for cover but Will, who still hadn’t gained her bearings in the air, flew backwards into her, and knocked them both over. It’s a good thing Cornelia was the earth Guardian because she seemed to spend a lot of time on the ground.

“You guys ok?” Serena asked as she walked over to the pair. Cornelia was struggling to pull herself out from under Will. She clawed at the weed covered gravel to try and drag herself forward.

Will picked herself up first and brushed the dirt off her arms. She looked at the setting sun which sent streaks of red and pink through the sky. They had been there for over an hour at least. “I’m ok, but it’s getting late. I think we’ve destroyed enough of Heatherfield for today.”

“I’m fine too if anyone cares,” Cornelia barked as she got to her feet, smoothing over the wrinkles in her skirt

Serena ignored her and went to pull her phone up of her pocket to check the time but then remembered her magical outfit change. Where did her clothes even go? “Uhh guys? How do we change back?”

Will thought for a minute before closing her eyes and pressing her hands to her chest. Serena watched as she slowly drew them away and the Heart of Kandrakar materialized in her hands. A bright pink ring of light radiated from the Heart and surrounded them. Serena closed her eyes as she felt the warmth of the transformation wash over her. When the light faded, she was back in her original clothes and body. She pulled out her phone and flipped it open, looking at the time. “Guys it’s 6:00pm we better get going.” She started walking back to the bridge to grab her backpack.

Irma’s brows furrowed as she looked around. “Where did Hay Lin go?”

A familiar scream came from above, stopping Serena in her tracks. Hay Lin! She had still been in the air when they transformed back! Thankfully, she wasn’t up too high, but Serena still winced when she crash landed into the garbage pile at the base of the pier. A sheet of waste metal wobbled before falling over onto some beer cans. That had to hurt.

“Found her,” Cornelia said sarcastically, not at all concerned with the fact that her friend had just landed on who knows what.

Serena shot her a less than impressed look and went to help Hay Lin out of the pile. She heard Hay Lin groan as she grabbed her hand and tried to pull her out. Serena’s face screwed up when she saw bits of junk fall back into the trash from where they had been squished into Hay Lin’s skin. Luckily, she didn’t appear to be bleeding although she’d probably would be sore for a few days. Whenever Serena fell from her skateboard the pain tended to linger and that was from just concrete, let alone a scrap pile.

She grabbed Hay Lin’s arm to steady her when a pulsing electric blue spiral appeared out of thin air beside them. Serena’s hand went slack, and she nearly dropped Hay Lin back into the garbage.  
Hay Lin grabbed Serena’s arm in a vice like grip. “Uh guys?” her voice shook as she stared wide eyed.

“Come on Hay Lin,” Irma didn’t even bother turning around as she and the other girls kept walking. “You can lie in garbage any day.”

“Guys!” Serena screamed as her face went white. The glowing circle crackled with energy and she jumped back when a bolt came too close for comfort, nearly knocking her and Hay Lin over.

“What are you...” Cornelia finally fed up, stopped and turned to see what had caused the alarm. She screamed when she saw it.

“What’s that?!” Taranee cried, eyes glued to the circle in fear.

“A portal! Don’t touch it!” Serena flinched when Hay Lin yelled in her ear. She grabbed her hard and stumbling back, pulled them from the portal. She vaguely recalled Yan Lin’s voice saying something about portals and evil but at the moment was too afraid to think properly.

Blue lightening started to spit from the portal when suddenly something fell out of it, landing in the trash beside Serena. She screamed, causing the other girls to scream and she jerked backwards, losing her grip on Hay Lin. She ran to the rest of her friends but never tore her eyes from the brown lump that had landed in the garbage.

She felt like her lungs had stopped and she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t process the lump as a person until it shifted and revealed a human figure. As they picked themselves out of the garbage, she realized that it was a boy wearing a tattered brown coat of some kind.

“Look!”

Serena jumped, not having noticed that Hay Lin had followed her and was now standing next to her. She followed the girl’s eyes as she pointed back at the portal. Another scream croaked to death in her throat when she saw a monster worthy of her nightmares staring back at her.

The creature was partly obscured by the portal, being still on the other side, but to Serena it looked like a dinosaur crossed with a human. It was massive with green and red scales, huge fangs, slitted pupils and long blonde hair. She would later remember this moment and realize that the strange hair hadn’t even made a blip on her register in the midst of her terror.

“Will, the necklace change us back!” Taranee grabbed Will by the shoulders and shook her when she didn’t respond.

Serena grabbed Irma and coward behind her when the monster came through the portal, looming over them snarling in rage. Instead of legs, the monster had a giant snake tail which was still mostly on the other side of the portal. It roared in their faces, the sound pushing Serena’s hair back from her face. This time her scream broke through, but it was drowned out by the monster. She wanted to run so badly but her feet were rooted to the ground. Her body twitched with the urge, but an instinctual part of her brain told her that running would only draw attention to herself. Irma grabbed her forearms and they jostled as they both tried to push themselves behind the other.

Just when Serena was sure it was about to eat them, the horrible beast’s ears perked and it suddenly turned away, looking back through the garbage. Serena thought her heart was going to pound its way out of her chest in terror and she was starting to feel lightheaded. Her knees buckled but she managed to remain standing thanks to her grip on Irma.

The creature reached into the trash and pulled out the boy that had come through the portal first. His entire body fit in its hand though he struggled fiercely, kicking, and pushing at its clawed grasp to escape.

Will finally came back to her senses when she heard the boy’s cries for help and pulled out the Heart. Serena caught the glow from the corner of her eyes as it flashed, and the familiar warmth immersed her. She was back in her Guardian form before she could so much as blink. Somewhere in the recess of her mind not overrun with fear, she realized she was stronger in this form, but it didn’t make her feel any terrified. What could her measly powers do against this mammoth creature?

The monster started to slither back through the portal, dragging the boy back with him. The boy screamed, green eyes darting wildly they briefly made contact with Serena’s. He looked at the six of them pleadingly, throwing an arm out in their direction in a futile hope to reach them.

“Fire!” shouted Will resolutely, throwing an arm out toward the portal.

“Me?” asked Taranee, thinking she was referring to the element fire.

“Everyone!”

Not knowing what she wanted, Serena sent a blast of shadows towards Will. They sputtered for a second, but she pushed with everything she had. Anything to make the monster go away. The darkness surged from her palms like water released from a dam. They joined a ball of light controlled by Will that was being fed by energy from all of them. With everyone’s elements channeled through Will, pink lightning started shooting from the ball of energy haphazardly.

Wind gusted around them, circling them like a tornado. Serena couldn’t tell if it was Hay Lin’s because her eyes were watering which blurred her vision. Despite the wind thundering in her ears she managed to make out the voice of the boy through the storm. “Close the portal!”

“How?!” she heard Will shout back.

“The thingie, use the crystal!” Hay Lin suggested from somewhere to her right.

Serena squinted through the wind and tears as Will braved against the wind and summoned the Heart. She grabbed it and aimed it at the portal causing the pink lightning to focus on the portal as well. The portal crackled again and started to shrink as it closed. But not before the boy was pulled screaming back through it. The portal closed tight behind him, swirling away into nothingness with a final burst of blue energy.

The energy hit Serena like a ton of bricks, throwing her off her feet until her back rammed into the brick wall behind her. Her shoulder blades scraped against the old bricks as she slid to the ground in a heap. She groaned, rolling onto her side. Lifting herself on her elbows, she saw that Will had somehow remained standing but the portal, the monster and the boy were gone. They had been too late.

“You lost him!” Cornelia gasped, staggering to her feet. “That... that... thing got him.”

Will looked away ashamed.

The thought of trying to defend Will briefly came to Serena’s mind but she pushed it aside for the more pressing matter of trying to pull herself upright without collapsing again. She hissed when a cramp shot through her right wing as she straightened it out. She staggered to her feet before limping back towards Will and the others where Will changed them back into humans.

No one said another word as they collected their backpacks and walked back to the Silver Dragon. As they walked, a light breeze blew against a stiff portion of her cheek. Raising her hand, she wiped across the remains of dried tear tracks. She wasn’t sure when she’d started crying. She didn’t feel sad, numb than anything else. As the adrenaline slowly faded away, it seemed like it took her emotions with it. Her eyes stared into the distance unseeing. She hardly registered her surroundings changing as they walked further into the city.

It was the headlights of a passing car shining in her eyes which finally broke through to her enough to remind her that it was dark out. Dark as in nighttime. As in Bromwell probably had no idea know where she was and was worried. She took a few shuddering breaths to steel herself try and make her voice even before she called him to let him know she was alright. He was worried sick of course but she managed to convince him that her phone had simply died while watching a movie and she’d lost track of time. She told him Yan Lin had offered the girls some dinner and that he could come pick her up soon. She spoke lowly, not wanting to disturb those others and the fragile peace they’d carved out. Then again, peace was a strong word for being scared speechless.

It was past closing hours when they reached the front door of the Silver Dragon. They knocked at the front doors until Yan Lin came out from the kitchen and unlocked them. She took one look at their solemn faces before ushering them all to a side table. Serena sunk into her chair and grabbed the edge of the white tablecloth, twisting it through her fingers as she stared off into space. Her brain kept replaying the pitiful fight over and over again despite her wishes. She kept picturing how it could have gone different, better, or worse, if she had done something except just stand there like an idiot. Maybe if Will had transformed them earlier... or if she’d blasted the monster directly...

Yan Lin gave them some tea and lemonade before gently asking them what happened. None of them spoke at first and Serena couldn’t bring herself to meet the old woman’s eyes. Eventually, one of them started speaking although Serena couldn’t remember who. The sound of her friends’ voices got steadier as they told bits and pieces of the story and she started to come out of it enough to look up and pay attention to the conversation.

“I see,” Yan Lin said softly after Hay Lin finished the story. Telling her how the monster had vanished and took the boy with him. “What did he look like?”

“He-” Serena’s voice broke and she cleared her throat before continuing, eyes glued back to the tablecloth. “He was just a boy. Couldn’t have been much older than us.”

Yan Lin looked at the girl hunched over in her chair, her body still unconsciously trying to protect her from a threat she no longer faced. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears and she had the tablecloth clenched tightly in her fists. Regardless of the bad feeling she got around Serena, she was still a grandma. She gingerly placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Serena tensed briefly at the contact but after a moment she uncurled slightly.

“You are safe now,” Yan Lin reassured quietly, so as not to startle her further. “You cannot blame yourselves for what happened.

“I don’t, I blame her,” Cornelia snapped, making Serena flinch under Yan Lin’s hand. She glared at Will. “She totally blew it.”

Irma scowled at her in response and jabbed her in the chest. “Hey, take it easy Corny,” she warned.

Cornelia swatted Irma’s hand away. “No, you take it easy Irmy.”

“Guys!” Serena yelled sharply as she finally snapped, slamming her hands on the table. Her nerves were shot to pieces and if those two started arguing again she was going to scream. At her fiery gaze, Cornelia and Irma turned their backs to each other, crossing their arms. Serena’s shoulders slumped and she sagged back into her chair.

“The thing looked like this.” Hay-Lin held up one of the notepads the waiters used to take orders.

Yan Lin took to pad, analyzing the rough sketch Hay Lin had drawn of the thing that attacked them. Her face fell. “Lord Cedric,” she sighed.

“Lord? They have got pretty loose standards for knighthood over there,” Irma quipped. Serena felt another flash of irritation surge through her, but she shoved it down, clenching her jaw.

“Cedric is not always in this form. As a Beast, he can shift into a human if need be,” Yan Lin explained.

“Well that’s good news for his wife.”

“Seriously Irma? Can you not be serious for one second?!” Serena burst out. She felt a sliver of guilt as soon as she did, but the sentiment was still there. They could have died, and Irma was treating that like it didn’t matter.

“I know,” yelled back Irma before the anger faded from her face and she sat back in her chair dejectedly. “You think I’m not scared?”

“Ah-ah don’t fight,” Yan-Lin soothed, coming to stand between them. “You only have each other and you’ve begun an adventure which I’m afraid you will need all of your talents and strengths just to survive,” she said gravely.

“Great,” murmured Serena as she leaned her cheek against her fist.

“So, what do we do now?” Hay Lin asked downcast, her head resting in her arms on the table.

“We should try and rescue the boy we saw at the portal,” answered Irma, sitting up straighter in her chair, searching the gazes of her friends.

“We don’t know who he is, we don’t know where Lord Cedric could have taken him, we don’t even know if he’s still alive,” Taranee refuted hopelessly.

“Oh.” Her meager hopes dashed; Irma slumped in her seat.

That sat in defeated silence, only disturbed by the occasional clink of a glass being picked up or sat down. After a few minutes, Serena’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and flipped it open, revealing a text from Bromwell. ‘I am out front when you’re ready.’

“Bromwell’s here,” Serena stood, swinging her backpack over her shoulder. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

The girls chorused variants of “bye” lifelessly as she walked out the front door and slid into the back seat of the town car.

“Are you alright Ms. Serena?” asked Bromwell, looking through the rear view mirror.

She gave a noncommittal hum in response, resting her head against the window.

He shot her a concerned look in the rear view mirror but didn’t question her. There was a time before her parents left when she would tell him anything. Now he fears those days are gone forever. He started the car and pulled into the street.

Serena stared vacantly out the window, the streetlights washing over her face in regular increments. She tried to think of other things but her mind kept circling back to the attack under the bridge. They had been woefully under prepared and as a result, that boy was probably dead, most likely eaten by Lord Cedric, whatever he was. She shuddered at the image.

Yan Lin said all they had to do was close portals, she never mentioned anything about risking their lives to battle evil creatures. She did not sign up for this. She was starting to think she never knew what she signed up for to begin with.

When they got back to the Silver Plaza, she said goodnight briefly to Bromwell and went straight to her room. He stared after her for a moment before shaking his head and walking to his own room.

Serena closed her door gently behind her and sat on her bed, her unseeing eyes directed at a blue abstract painting her parents had bought for her at some big art show. She noted absentmindedly that her stomach was growling and went to get up to go to the kitchen but remembered she’d told Bromwell she ate dinner at the Silver Dragon.

She fell back onto her bed with a huff, looking over the texture of the ceiling. Distant screaming echoed in her ears and after a few minutes she let out a resigned sigh. She changed into her pajamas and crawled under the covers, turning off her lights using the remote on her nightstand. Might as well get it over with, she thought. She could already tell her nightmares were going to have a field day with this. It took her awhile to fall asleep but sure enough, when she awoke screaming in the wee hours of the morning, all she could see was red scales and dripping fangs. And fathomless green eyes staring into her soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: Caleb has green eyes. Hope you guys enjoyed my first chapter. I am planning on doing a lot of expanding to the story so hopefully you'll stick around to see all that unfold. Like, comment and review.


	2. It Resumes (about as well as it began)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb and Serena's first meeting!!!!

Walking into the school courtyard the next morning, the dark bags under her eyes were still puffy despite the layers of concealer she used to try to cover them. Luckily, her screams hadn’t woken Bromwell. This time. She hated thinking about how much sleep he must have been losing as a result of _her_ issues. She tried her best to keep the extent of her nightmares under wraps, but it was like fighting a losing battle. It was kind of difficult to keep from screaming in the middle of the night if she didn’t know she was screaming in the first place. Her only clue in was the soreness of her throat when she woke up. 

She rubbed her eyes to make the bleariness go away and spotted Taranee and Hay Lin sitting in the shade of one of the outdoor corridors. 

“You look tired,” Hay Lin stated when Serena dropped her book bag and slid down the wall next to her. She closed her eyes and leaned back, resting her head against the bricks. 

“You’re telling me you got a full night’s sleep after yesterday?” Serena rebutted, her voice still rough with sleep.

“Well no, not exactly,” Hay Lin admitted, shrugging her shoulders sheepishly.

“Well there you go.”

“You guys look like death,” Irma chirped as she and Cornelia walked up and joined them.

Serena didn’t even bother to open her eyes. “We’ve already established that.”

“Just making sure.”

From then on, the rest of the conversation went in one ear and out the other. All of her energy was being dedicated solely to keeping her head from drooping _too_ much while still allowing her to rest comfortably. Her eyelids were so heavy they felt like they were glued shut. She hoped they weren’t, eye boogers were gross. In all honesty, she could probably just sag into a heap if she let herself. It wasn’t as though the thought wasn’t appealing, a horizontal surface had to be easier to sleep on, even if it was concrete. On the other hand, going from bricks to concrete might not be much of an upgrade. 

“Hey guys.” 

Serena peeled open her eyes, blinking against the light at the sound of Will’s voice. She forced herself to sit up straighter. “Hey.”

Will’s steps faltered as five pairs of eyes turned to her. “So... how’s everyone doing?”

Cornelia crossed her arms as a cruel sneer distorted her face. “You mean aside from being attacked by a giant snake monster or just in general?” 

Will’s shoulders hunched at Cornelia’s harsh words. “Uh... both?” 

“Last night sucked,” Irma said bluntly. “We have all these magic powers and we couldn’t even stop one bad guy.” 

“How were we supposed to fight it?” Serena countered, turning to face Irma from her seated position. “We’d only gotten our powers like two hours before!” 

“It’s my fault” Will looked away sadly, her hands folding in front of her. “If I had closed the portal sooner, we could have stopped him.”

“It’s not your fault,” Taranee reassured, placing a hand on Will’s shoulder. “None of us knew what we were doing.” She looked pointedly at Cornelia who just rolled her eyes.

“Hey, how’d you even close the portal anyways?” Hay Lin asked Will. “I was so scared I had my eyes closed.” 

“I don’t know,” she admitted, pulling the Heart out from under her denim vest. “I just pulled out the Heart and then there was a bunch of lightning and the next thing I knew, the portal was closing. 

“Well the portal was producing lightning too remember?” Taranee pointed out. “Maybe the lightning from the Heart cancelled it out, making it close.”

Will shrugged. “Maybe. You’re guess is as good as mine. 

“Probably better,” Irma said, leaning into Cornelia. “So, what do we do now?” 

“What do you expect us to do?” Cornelia gestured to the six of them. “We don’t even know what’s on the other side of that portal.”

“Well we can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Irma gestured widely as her voice raised.

Cornelia sneered, ready to fire off but before they could argue further, the bell rang. 

“Talk about saved by the bell,” Serena muttered pulling herself up with groan as she stretched her back. “We can figure all that out at lunch,” she decided. “Right now, I’ve got to go tape my eyelids open for Mrs. Rudolph’s algebra class.” 

“Ugh,” Cornelia groaned. “You had to remind me. Who thought math for first period was a good idea?”

“Not me.” Serena grabbed her backpack and moved to stand next her and Will. They were in the same block together, so they mostly had the same classes. “When I got my schedule at open house I almost cried.”

“Good luck,” Irma wished them as she, Taranee and Hay Lin headed off for their English class. They were in the same block as well but a grade below them. 

“Thanks, I’m going to need it,” Will waved before following Cornelia and Serena into the STEM wing of the building. Algebra 1 was on the second floor. 

“Good morning class!” Mrs. Rudolph greeted as they walked into the door. Mrs. Rudolph was a kind, heavy set woman who wore large, purple tinted glasses. She taught math classes at several levels which meant Serena would have her throughout her time at Sheffield. 

Serena and Cornelia took the seats they’d chosen yesterday and pulled out their supplies. Will managed to find an empty desk beside Serena and took it before anyone else could. They sat towards the back of the class by the windows that overlooked the courtyard below. 

“Your five minute warm up is on the board,” Mrs. Rudolph announced as she jiggled her mouse, booting up her desktop computer.

Serena took one look at the incomprehensible stream of letters and numbers on the board and her forehead hit her desk with a thump. 

* * *

Four agonizingly brain numbing hours later, the lunch bell finally rang. Serena practically bolted out of English 1, hurriedly exchanging her English textbook for her lunch bag. Slamming her locker door shut, she joined the throngs of students walking down the halls to their next period. Despite the large number of people crowding the hallways, everyone kept to an unspoken rule, you walk on the right side of the hallway. Given that Sheffield accommodated grades 6-12, this made hall traffic at least somewhat manageable. 

It was warm outside today so most of the kids in her lunch period were eating in the courtyard. Living on the coast meant it rained all the time so sunny days with clear skies were a bit of a rarity. She briefly held the door open for the next person behind her and stepped out of the overwhelming A/C into the warm sunlight. 

She spotted Irma lounging in the grass against a tree next to one of the double sided concrete benches that were scattered throughout the courtyard. Taranee and Hay Lin sat next to her, actually using the bench. She saw Will sit down on the other side just as Cornelia climbed up and perched herself on the backrest, always having to be the center of attention. 

She rolled her eyes and walked over to join them, sitting in the empty space on the bench beside Cornelia’s legs. Said blonde was in the middle of a tirade on the importance of color coordination at the expense of Will who was busy sipping on her soda and ignoring her. Who knows what she had said to get Cornelia started. Probably nothing, Cornelia loved to give out unsolicited fashion advice usually intermixed with insults and petty comments. It was one of the many reasons she doesn’t go shopping with Cornelia unless it was in a group. 

She caught Will’s eye and gave her a wink in solidarity before tuning out Cornelia as well. It was Tuesday which meant today was a sandwich day. She pulled out a pb&j sandwich with its crust diligently cut off by Bromwell. She took a bite, content to just sit in the moment and people watch before getting down to business. 

Groups of students had sprawled all over the courtyard. Some sat on the double benches like they were, but others lounged on picnic blankets spread out over the grass. Serena felt a bit more secure in the knowledge that with so many people around, they’d be safe to have their less than normal conversation. With everyone else busy with their own conversations, not to mention the city natural ambient, the likelihood of anyone overhearing them was slim. Even then, it’s not like eavesdroppers would have a clue what they were talking about anyways. To an outsider it would probably sound like they were talking about a movie. Or they might think they were in one of those weird fantasy board game groups. She knew Martin was a part of an after school club that played those kinds of RPG games. Man, she certainly hoped nobody thought they were with them, that would be humiliating. 

The sudden lack of conversation milling around Serena tuned her back into her own friend group. For a few moments all that was to be heard was the sound of chewing, sipping and the crinkling of plastic wrappers. It seemed like no one wanted to be the one to broach the topic they had met for. 

Serena decided to break the silence herself, speaking up about something that had been weighing on her mind since the portal fight. “So, what are we going to do about the boy Lord Cedric caught?”

Will pulled a granola bar out of her brown paper bag, looking at it dejectedly. “That poor boy,” she said lowly. “I wonder who he was?” 

Hay Lin lowered her banana before saying what they were all thinking. “I wonder what that thing did to him?”

“It’s what it could have done to us that worries me,” admitted Taranee in between bites of her sub. “I mean that’s what we’re supposed to fight with our so called powers?”

‘Taranee was right,’ Serena thought. Their powers had had no effect on the snake creature. They most they had done was muss up his hair from the wind caused by the Heart’s energy. The energy they had pulled together didn’t even attack the monster. All it had done was close the portal, sending them flying back instead of Cedric. Maybe if they had concentrated on attacking instead of closing the portal, they might have gotten to the boy in time. They had been completely caught off guard and as a result that boy was probably dead. She didn’t even know that random monsters were something they would have to deal with.

She turned and braced her arm on the backrest to face the others. “Ok does anyone actually remember Yan Lin saying anything about fighting evil creatures because I’m almost sure that bit got lost in the fine print.”

“She did say that Meridian had been taken over by an evil prince bent on taking over the universe so maybe that counted?” Irma suggested, shrugging nonchalantly. 

“Well I don’t know about you but I’d rather ‘risk of getting eaten’ not be in the job description,” Serena huffed. “Plus, couldn’t she have given us like a bestiary or something? Or maybe an introductory pamphlet like ‘ _Welcome to Guardianhood, here’s how to battle_ LITERAL MONSTERS!” She threw her hands in the air incredulously. Seeing a few people’s eyes turn at her outburst, she sat back in her seat demurely.

“Yeah no way am I going to fight mutant lizards from the twilight zone,” Cornelia nodded from above. “I’m sorry but I am far too pretty to end up as snake poo.” She flipped her gold hair from emphasis. 

Despite her frustration, Serena couldn’t help herself. “Is there another kind of poo you’re better suited for?”

Cornelia scoffed, outraged at the suggestion while the other girls laughed.

“So, about the guy,” Irma reiterated after they’d sobered up. “We can’t just leave him to the hands of that Cedric thing. I still say we should rescue him.”

“How do we even know he needs rescued?” Taranee questioned, eating a spoonful of yogurt. “We don’t know why Lizard Man was after him in the first place. What if he’s a criminal or something?”

“Are you kidding me?” Irma exclaimed, sitting up off the tree. “That thing was totally going to eat us if he hadn’t found the guy first. I don’t know about you but roaring in someone’s face doesn’t exactly scream ‘good guy’.”

“Irma’s right,” said Hay Lin, gesturing to her with her candy bar. “We’re Guardians, we’re like heroes now. It’s our duty to help those in need.” 

“Hey, I already have to donate a portion of my allowance to charity,” Cornelia argued. “Even if we could rescue this guy, which I highly doubt, we have no idea where to even find him.” 

“Ooh I got it!” Irma jumped up, pounding her fist into her palm. “We can do a recon mission!”

“A what mission?” asked Will, scrunching up her granola wrapper.

“It’s this thing people do in heist movies,” she explained, pacing excitedly in front of them. “Before they go in to steal the goods, they always scope out the place. Y’know check entrances and exits and stuff. Basically, they make sure they know the lay of the land before they start planning.”

“That’s a great idea!” Hay Lin cheered. 

“I don’t know guys,” Taranee hesitated, her eyebrows furrowed nervously. “It could be dangerous.”

“I think it could work,” Will chimed in. “I mean it always works in the movies. How hard could it be? We just sneak around and look at stuff and decide from there. No fighting and no monsters,” she nodded reassuringly at Taranee. 

Irma extended her hand. “Are you in?” she asked Serena and Cornelia who hadn’t yet voiced their opinion.

Serena looked to the side, thinking carefully. On the one hand she was not eager to encounter anything like Cedric any time soon. The planet of Metamoor could be full of horrible creatures like that waiting to snatch them up. On the other hand, Will, Irma and Hay Lin seemed pretty in favor of the idea. Plus, it sounded like the logical first step which is something Taranee would approve of. Not to mention she felt guilty that they hadn’t been able to get a grip on their powers soon enough to stop Cedric. It was technically their fault the guy had been captured. If he died it would be on them. 

“I’m totally in,” she said finally, walking around the bench to her clasp her hand in Irma’s. She then turned to Cornelia, looking at her imploringly. 

Cornelia looked back and forth at her friends pleading faces before getting to her feet with a groan. “Fine,” she sighed, crossing her arms. 

The girls cheered but their celebration was cut short by the bell, signaling the end of lunch period. They threw their garbage into the trash can beside the bench and headed inside. Now that they had a plan in motion, they just had to find a portal. Things were looking up. 

“It’s class picture day tomorrow,” Will brought up as they walked through the doors. “Do you guys get dressed up?”

“What?” “No!” “Of course not!” The other five girls denied adamantly.

“Nobody even cares about picture day,” Serena waved off the idea. 

“Except Cornelia,” Irma interjected. “She started shopping for it in kindergarten,” Irma grinned cheekily, earning her a dirty look from Cornelia. 

“No really,” Serena leaned into Will. “She plans all her outfits like a week in advance. She’s got pictures taped to a Calendar.”

“I wonder where that boy is now?” mused Hay Lin back to the subject of their previous conversation. 

“Hopefully somewhere we can get to him easily,” Serena answered somberly as they broke apart and headed to their respective afternoon classes. 

* * *

They met up again after school to walk home together as usual. Serena had spent her free period skateboarding around the block with the guys. Now she cradled it under her arm as she walked beside Irma and Cornelia. When her parents first hired Bromwell after Moore Industries took off, he offered to pick her up from school as well as drop her off. She politely declined the offer, though it took some time for Bromwell to accept it, in favor of walking with her friends. 

Today was the first day Will had joined them on the walk home. Thankfully, she was way more talkative compared to yesterday’s walk to the Silver Dragon. She actually participated in the conversation which was nice. Serena was glad she felt included. Since her parents left, she had made a conscious effort to not let anyone feel left out. After all, she of all people knew how much that could hurt. 

They turned the corner onto Brisky St. when Hay Lin jumped in front of them and started skipping backwards. “So, when do we go on the recon mission huh? Tonight?” she asked eagerly. 

“Woah, slow down Tinkerbell,” Cornelia instructed. “We can rescue this rebel leader after picture day, right?”

“Call me a wimp,” said Taranee. “But in the school yearbook I’d like to still have a face. 

Irma rolled her eyes at the two of them. “Forget picture day,” she chastised. “I don’t care what I look like, I care about who I am. Let’s go kick some Meridian butt!” she cheered, punching her fist in the air. “Maybe there’ll be some cute evil boys over there like the one that... snake thing caught.”

Serena’s eyebrows furrowed as she turned to her confused. “Wait how do you know he was cute?” 

Irma shrugged casually. “I have a sense for these kinds of things.”

Serena raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?” 

Will shook her head. “I don’t think we should go so soon,” she confessed. “I mean I get that time is of the essence and all, but I don’t know how much help we’ll be in a rescue attempt by soaking him and covering him with garbage. Let’s practice again tomorrow and then we can go.”

As much as Serena wanted to move as quickly as possible, Will did make sense. They could barely fly, with the exception of Hay Lin and their powers were shoddy at best. Even if they did rescue the boy, if they ran into Cedric again or something worse, they’d be toast. Actually, they’d probably be the jam on the toast because Cedric would squash them like bugs. 

When they reached the intersection of Brisky and Fifth Will went to turn down her street but stopped when she noticed Taranee still walking ahead with the rest of the group. She could have sworn they lived in the same direction. “Taranee don’t you go this way?”

Taranee laughed breathily and turned around. “My _dad’s_ cooking tonight, I’m going to Irma’s place. See you tomorrow Will,” she waved. 

“Oh ok. Bye guys,” Will waved back, watching forlornly as the tight knit group walked on without her. 

“Catch you later,” Serena called back before turning back to the other girls.

“So, you really aren’t getting dressed up for your picture?” Hay Lin asked Cornelia, surprised. 

Irma laughed. “Yeah right. Like there’s going to be any clothes or makeup left in the _world_ after Cornelia’s finished. Hello?” 

“Got to get camera ready,” Serena added, grinning as Cornelia’s eyebrow started to tick.

“Whatever,” Cornelia hissed, crossing her arms. 

The girls laughed at Cornelia’s characteristic response. Irma satisfied with her contribution mercifully switched the topic from an aggravated Cornelia to the latest Boyzilla CD that had just come out. Allegedly this album had a track that had been recorded when Zack was still with the band. No one knew if it was true or not since he had left halfway through recording. Hay Lin was explaining her latest theory as to why Zack left the band, the last one being that he was secretly dating Harrison’s little sister which had caused fighting between the two band mates. She was halfway into a story about how she saw a grainy picture of Zack with a shadow over his face that could have been a black eye when they reached Cornelia and Serena’s turn. They hurriedly made their goodbyes as Hay Lin tried to pull them back, talking quickly about how the photo was actually connected to a previous story about Nicki’s pet pigeon he’d sneaked on the tour bus. The two blondes ducked out as quickly as they could, waving apologetically to a pleading Taranee and Irma.

They walked in silence for several minutes. Cornelia was one of those friends a person was only friends with because you’ve known them for so long and you happen to spend so much time together. Serena would like to think there was a time when they were younger that they might have been real friends. Most of Serena’s fonder memories of Cornelia were from when they were in elementary school or when they were hanging with the other girls as a group.

Serena was trying to make up her mind about whether she should try and start a conversation when they passed an entertainment shop. There was a poster of Vance Michael Justin in the window and as soon as Cornelia spotted it her eyes got wide and her mouth dropped in a silent scream. 

“What?” Serena asked. She looked at Cornelia, following her gaze to the window before her face fell. “Oh.”

“Vance Michael Justin,” Cornelia breathed, approaching the window in a daze. 

“Cornelia come on,” Serena groaned as Cornelia pressed her face against the glass, gazing into VMJ’S paper eyes. When she didn’t respond Serena rolled her eyes and grabbed a hold of her arm. “Cornelia let’s go!” She pulled on her arm, trying to get her to move away from the poster. Cornelia pressed her other hand against the glass and tried to pull herself away from Serena, her eyes never leaving the poster. “Cornelia this is ridiculous!” Serena grabbed her with both hands and tugged hard, making Cornelia jolt. She took advantage of her unbalance to start walking away with her. Cornelia stumbled as Serena dragged her away from the poster. 

“No! Vance Michael!” Cornelia cried, reaching back to the poster desperately. 

Serena kept a firm hold on her as she dragged her kicking and screaming away from the store. She could have sworn she saw the shop owner sticking her head out the door, staring after them. Serena blushed as she gave the two of them a weird look before going back inside. Stupid Cornelia and her stupid crush. 

Cornelia didn’t stop struggling until she had pulled her around the corner and out of view of the poster. She let her arm go limp, but Serena held on for several more steps, ready to tighten her grip in case she made a run for it. Cornelia just scowled at her before jerking her arm out of Serena’s grasp and crossing them in front of her chest, pouting. Serena watched her face closely but eventually dubbed her no longer a flight risk. Cornelia gave her the silent treatment for the next two blocks before she suddenly gasped. Serena whipped around, frantically trying to spot the VMJ memorabilia that must have caught her attention again. 

“Did you know Vance is making a new Corilian Chronicles movie?” Cornelia asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Uh yeah,” Serena answered hesitantly, ready for another fan girl meltdown. “I saw the trailer the other day.”

“Wasn’t it amazing?” Cornelia sighed dreamily. “Of course, I found all the Easter eggs. The emblem on the hilt of the Sword of Fire was obviously the same one from the...”

Serena deadpanned and kept walking. Unfortunately, Cornelia followed her, still yammering about the trailer. If there was one thing Cornelia could out nerd Taranee at it was VMJ trivia. Not that she didn’t love VMJ as well, she had a couple cutouts of him from magazines tapped to her wall. She also had all five of his CDs next to her speaker. But Cornelia’ crush was next level. If she were old enough to drive, she would probably stalk him in person as well as online. Both she and Irma went cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs over him. It was one of the few things they could actually agree on. 

Serena breathed a sigh of relief when they turned a corner and she spotted Gardenza Plaza down the block. Just a few more minutes and she could finally ditch Crazy Corny. As soon as they made it in front of the entrance to Cornelia’s apartment building Serena said a quick “bye!” and speed walked down the sidewalk. Cornelia was still going off behind her, so she increased her pace to a slight jog. She finally stopped when she reached the front door of Silver Plaza, panting slightly as she looked back to see if she had made a clean get away. She spotted Cornelia’s blonde hair just as she went into her building. She let out a deep breath and headed for her doorway. 

“Long day Serena?” Rob the doorman asked as he held the door open for her.

“You have no idea,” she said, thanking him politely as she walked into the lobby. As soon as she entered, she was hit by a blast cold air. Compared to the hot and muggy August air, it felt like walking into a wall. 

Riding the elevator to floor fifteen she walked out into the open foyer of her family’s penthouse apartment. For the most part, the entire right side of the apartment was a line of continuous glass windows overlooking the Heatherfield skyline. She walked down the hallway, passing the living room in its grey and white color scheme. The interior wall was made entirely of black marble with an electric fireplace in the middle. When they first moved in here a couple months ago, her parents were adamant about keeping the modern style colors and fixtures. She wasn’t allowed to paint her room, so she had to make do with colorful posters and magazine clippings. She made a beeline passed the opulent dining room to the interior hallway where the bedrooms were located. 

Once she made it to her room, she plopped down into her desk chair, letting it spin briefly before rummaging through her backpack. She pulled out her school folders and her planner. Flipping to today’s date she ran down the list of homework assignments, mentally calculating how long she could wait before doing them. At the bottom of the page in bright red ink was the words ‘PICTURE DAY’ underlined and circled. She stared at the note before leaning back and looking at her closet. One of the doors was slid back just a few inches, revealing a series of shirts hung in two rows. Looking back at her planner, she thought back to their conversation on the walk home. 

She glanced back at her closet. A familiar bright blue shirt stood out surrounded by darker t-shirts, its silver embroidery sparkling in the light. 

Well....

* * *

“You hypocrite!” Cornelia hissed, placing her hands on her hips. 

“What?” Irma asked incredulously.

“What do you mean ‘ _what_?’ ‘ _Oh, I don’t care what I look like, I care about who I am_ ,” she parroted, imitating Irma’s previous statement in a nasally voice. She raised her eyebrow pointedly at Irma’s red off the shoulder crop top, studded belt, and hoop earrings.

Then she turned her judgment on Hay Lin. “Nice shoes,” she sneered referring to Hay Lin’s purple Mary Janes with yellow stars that matched her dress. “Are you going to the land of Oz after school?”

“Lay off her Cornelia,” Serena growled, giving her a warning look. 

Cornelia whirled around and narrowed her eyes at her. “Oh, don’t think I’ve forgotten about you Little Miss ‘ _nobody even cares about picture day_.’ I see you broke out the Bloomingdales.”

Serena bristled. “It’s only the shirt!” she protested, crossing an arm over the blue thick strap crop top self-consciously. The denim vest and skirt had come from Aeropostale. “And don’t you start, you’re practically rolling in designer!”

“Well what did you expect? We all knew I was lying.” She flipped her hair and tugged up her low rise jeans. She had a Gucci belt on the outside of the belt loops, but it was for decoration only. Everyone knew you never wore a belt for its intended purpose. “Oh! And here comes Miss. ‘ _I get dizzy in high heels,_ ” she mocked as Taranee came running towards them wearing a yellow tunic and platform sandals. She skidded to a stop in front of them and bent over to catch her breath before holding up a faded green backpack. 

“Is that for your cape and tiara?” Cornelia smiled condescendingly. 

“It’s Will’s backpack,” Taranee explained hurriedly. “I found it lying on the sidewalk, the crystal’s still in it!”

“Well maybe she just dropped it?” Hay Lin suggested hopefully, looking worriedly at the backpack.

“And didn’t notice?” Taranee stressed. “Get real, her science textbook alone must way twenty pounds.” She reached into the backpack’s side pocket and pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar in all its shining and musical glory. 

Serena started to get worried and kicked off the wall. “Is her phone in it?” she asked, rummaging through the pockets. She eventually found it in a front pocket and flipped it open, but the screen remained dark. “Dead,” she said gravely, snapping it shut.

“What are we going to do?” Irma’s voice hitched as she joined them, all of them crowding around the backpack as if protecting this one piece of Will.

“Should we call the police?” Cornelia asked, starting to look concerned.

Just then the Heart shook and started to chime loudly. Serena flinched and peaked around Irma’s head to see if anyone had noticed. Taranee stuffed the Heart into Will’s backpack but it’s chiming was only muffled. 

“Can’t you put that thing on vibrate?” Cornelia snapped, lowering her voice.

Taranee looked at her in disbelief. “I don’t know how it works,” she hissed back. 

“Guys people are going to see!” Hay Lin whispered, putting a hand over her mouth to shield her words from would be eavesdroppers. 

The girls started to shift nervously, looking around anxiously for prying eyes while frantically trying to figure out what to do about Will. Serena shifted her weight, unconsciously. Readjusting her foot put her slightly in front of Taranee and shielded the backpack from view as she scanned the courtyard. 

“I know a place,” said Irma looking from the people in the courtyard to the front door which still had students pouring through it. “Follow me.” She led them into the building through a side door at the end of one of the outdoor corridors. As they speed walked down the hall, Serena’s eyes darted towards the other students hanging around at the lockers. She studied their faces for any sign that they were onto them. Taranee clutched the jingling backpack to her chest, slightly hunched over it as if she could muffle it with her body. Irma lead them up the stairs to a hallway on the second floor of the liberal arts wing. 

She walked up to a classroom door and peered through the tiny window. Apparently, it was empty because she then turned the handle and opened the door. “In here.” She beckoned them into the classroom, doing a double check of the hallway before closing the door behind her.

“I feel like I should be concerned with the number of hiding places you know of,” Serena remarked. 

They congregated in the center of the room, away from the door and windows before Hay Lin pulled out the Heart. It was still chiming. Suddenly a particularly bright ring of light rippled across its surface and an image appeared within the crystal. Serena squinted against the pink light, peering closer. When she made out the picture she gasped and jerked back. It was Will! Still dressed in yesterday’s clothes and struggling against rosy vines that restrained her. 

“We’ve got to go get her!” Hay Lin insisted, looking mournfully at the tears rolling down Will’s face. 

“You’re serious? You wanna skip school on picture day?” Cornelia looked at her like she was crazy.

“What does picture day have to do with anything?” Serena exclaimed incredulously. “Cornelia she’s been kidnapped.” 

“We don’t know that!” Cornelia reached, her eyes looking sheepishly off to the side.

“Are you kidding me? She’s literally tied up right now!” Serena gestured to Will’s trembling form in the Heart. “What the heck is wrong with you?” She glared daggers at her. She couldn’t believe Cornelia was being so selfish that she’d risk someone’s life over school picture day. 

Cornelia, though thoroughly chastised, crossed her arms defensively and looked down her nose at Serena. “Well what’s your plan huh? We don’t even know how to find her.” 

“Um we may not know,” Hay Lin interrupted. “But this thing seems to have an idea.” The Heart was pulling against her grasp, extending its chain like an arrow. She stood up and walked towards the other end of the room. The Heart adjusted its angle so that it continued to pull in the same direction. 

“It’s like a homing beacon,” Taranee gasped, snapping her fingers. “It could lead us to Will.”

They headed to the door. Taranee stuck her head out, looking down the hallway in both directions before giving the all clear. Hay Lin walked out first with the Heart and it immediately changed directions, pointing towards the stairwell. They followed the Heart as it led them down the stairs and through the school back towards the courtyard. The exited through the same side door Irma had shown them so as to avoid anyone spotting them. They crouched low as they sneaked past the windows of classes still in session. The Heart guided them to a maintenance door on the side of the building. Hay Lin tried turning the doorknob, but it was locked. 

“What are we going to do know?” Taranee asked. “The janitor is the only one with a key.”

Hay Lin held the Heart up to Serena. “Hold this.” 

Serena took the Heart’s chain and a shock traveled up her arm. She winced but tightened her fist around the chain. It was hot to the touch, almost to the point where it burned her fingers. Tingles races down her spine as goosebumps rose on her arms and the hair on the back of her neck shifted. She stared at the Heart in awe. Every time the Heart rippled with light, she felt a wave of energy rush through her. This thing held immense power, no doubt about that. It coursed through her veins, filling Serena to the brim with energy, making her feel lighter than air. She was almost sure that if she willed it, she could take off into the sky right now. She felt like she could do anything. 

Hay Lin knelt down in front of the doorknob and reached into her hair, pulling out two bobby-pins. She pulled and bent them into a different shape before inserting them into the keyhole. She jiggled them around for a few seconds before there was an audible click and she reached up and turned the knob. The door unlocked and swung open. 

“Ok we’re good now.” She stood and brushed the dirt off her knees. She looked up to see all of them gaping at her. “What?”

“How did you do that?” Cornelia finally voiced.

“Oh,” Hay Lin smiled bashfully. “I found a YouTube tutorial.”

“Wicked.” Irma breathed in awe. 

Serena blinked. She had forgotten what was happening around her. She could hear her friend’s voices but couldn’t make out the worlds. She felt like her head was underwater, seeing and hearing things at a distance, unaffected by the world around her as she floated serenely in a haze and warmth and energy. 

Hay Lin plucked the Heart’s chain out of Serena’s hand. “Thank you.”

Serena gasped as the ocean of energy rushed out of her. She shifted, trying to regain her balance and her breath. Her lungs felt sore as she took in gulps of air greedily. Had she forgotten to breath? Placing a hand over her chest to try and restrain her pounding heart, she glanced around to see if any of her friends had noticed her reaction. Their eyes were all on Hay Lin as she held the door open. Serena surveyed Hay Lin for a hint that she was feeling the same rush of power that she had but Hay Lin didn’t look at all effected by reclaiming the Heart. She moved through the door and started walking down the stairs as if nothing had changed. Serena started dumbly as Irma, Taranee and Cornelia passed her, following Hay Lin. She shook her head, doing her best to snap out of it before following, closing the door slowly behind her in an effort to be extra quiet. 

She jogged to catch up with her friends as they descend a flight of stairs into the underbelly of the school. The Heart was the only light source when they reached the bottom. Its meager glow barley illuminating the stairwell. 

“I can’t see a thing down here,” Taranee complained. 

Serena looked around the wall space and barely managed to make out a dark box with what looked like a series of switches on it. “Hold on, I think I might have found a light switch.” She flipped a switch, hoping it was in fact a light and not something more technical. She didn’t want to accidentally turn something on or off down here. Industrial lightbulbs flickered to life above them casting a dull orange glow over their surroundings. Pipes, wires, and fuse boxes lined the walls and ceiling with cobwebs stretching between them. Flies buzzed around the light bulbs which cast long dancing shadows down the hallway. 

“You know, I think I liked it better when I couldn’t see,” said Taranee glancing nervously at the shadows and backing up into Cornelia, accidentally stepping on her shoe.

“Oww! Would you move it?” She ordered, pushing Taranee off of her. 

The Heart chimed and gave another insistent tug on its chain, demanding they keep moving. As they walked down the hallways their footsteps stirred up dust from the floor which floated hazily around them.

Irma coughed, trying to clear her airways only to be met with more musty air. “So, this is where they store all the world’s dust,” she choked out.

“It’s a good thing none of us have asthma,” Serena remarked, swiping a hand in front of her face to try and clear the space. 

The Heart lead them down the end of a long hallway. As she looked ahead, Serena realized that the end of the hall was bathed in blue light. A buzzing sound filled the air as they got closer to the light. They turned the corner and gasped at the sight of a portal on the other side. It pulsed, swirling around in a circle with blue lightning crackling menacingly at its edges just like the one at the bridge. 

“Will’s on the other side of that?” Irma gulped, eyeballing the lightning that sparked against the floor just feet away from them. 

“This is crazy! Until she puts that on, we don’t have any powers,” Cornelia reminded them pointedly. “We’re taking the word of what, some _jewelry_ to save a person we hardly know.”

“Who cares if we don’t know her that well?” Serena exclaimed, turning to face Cornelia with her hands on her hips. “She’s still in danger and she’s still a Guardian. We can’t just leave her there!” 

“Yeah last year I was the new girl,” Taranee added. “You didn’t even know who I was until a month into the semester.”

Serena winced guiltily, having forgotten about that. “Sorry about that,” she apologized. 

“Look,” Hay Lin sighed. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

Cornelia groaned, her shoulders slumping dejectedly. “Okay, guilt me why don’t you. But no way I’m going first.” 

Hay Lin and Taranee cautiously approached the portal, doing their best to avoid the lightning that shot out at random intervals. Hay Lin stopped in front of it, staring into its swirling blue depths before crying out as the Heart suddenly pulled her through the portal. Taranee whimpered, looking back at them fearfully before carefully sticking her hand through the portal. When nothing happened, she stuck her head in as well before finally walking through completely. The portal sent out shower of lightning that fizzled into nothingness as they entered it. 

After the portal settled back down the other three carefully shuffled closer. Cornelia leaned forward hesitantly but shrieked and jumped back when the portal crackled again. “If I go last, I’ll just chicken out,” she announced. 

“Well I won’t,” Irma reassured, pressing her hands against Cornelia’s back to keep her front backing into her. “I’ll go last.”

Cornelia turned her head and looked back at Irma. “Then you have to do something for me.”

“What do I have to do?”

“Push me,” Cornelia requested, glancing nervously back that the portal. 

“My pleasure,” Irma growled, grinning triumphantly. 

Serena had been busy examining the portal and the lightning that bounced off of it, trying to determine a pattern so as not to get hit. She had no idea if portal lightning could have the same damaging effects as real lightning. But at Cornelia’s words all the trepidation that had slowly been building was washed away by morbid glee. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. She might never feast her eyes on this beautiful sight ever again. “Oh, I have to see this.”

Cornelia glared at her but edged closer to the portal, looking up at it anxiously. The portal crackled again, and she shook her head rapidly, backing away. “You know I was wrong; I should go last.”

“No, you were right, I should push you,” said Irma with a vicious grin who proceeded to do just that. 

Cornelia screamed as she fell forward through the portal in another burst of lightning.

Serena stared after Cornelia for a few seconds before slowly turning to Irma, worried that if she looked away from the portal, the vision she had been blessed with would disappear from her memory. “I am living though you so hard right now,” said Serena gazing at Irma in awe. 

“Finally got to cross that off my bucket list,” Irma smirked. “Ok, you’re up.”

“Wait what?” Serena snapped out of her daze, glancing between Irma and the portal. 

Irma held up her hands, wiggling her fingers threateningly. “Do you want the same treatment?”

“No!” She jumped away from Irma. She looked at Irma’s hands warily before turning to the portal. She approached it slowly, flinching whenever a spark of lightning got to close. Stopping mere inches from its surface, she waited with bated breath, taking in its swirling center. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the portal itself appeared to be made out of a blue mist. It sent off little wisps which vanished a few inches out. With the lightning sparking around the edges, the portal reminded her of a storm cloud. 

“Hurry up!” Irma yelled behind her.

Serena jumped like five feet in the air, whirling around to glare at Irma and her smug smirk. “I am,” she hissed before turning back to the portal.

She stuck a single foot into the blue mist, like she was dipping her toes in a pool and waited. Her foot disappeared but she didn’t feel anything. No pain, no electric shocks, nothing. Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves she stepped into the portal, letting the mist envelope her completely. 

White engulfed her vision and the air thickened around her. The pressure began to build and push against her chest making it difficult to breathe. She couldn’t see anything beyond the white light and her chest was getting tight from the lack of air. She couldn’t feel her limbs. She couldn’t _see_ her limbs. All she could do was hope she was moving forward as was her intention. 

Just when the pressure turned to pain, she erupted through the other side of the portal, fresh air hitting her face and filling her lungs with a gasp. Said lungs suddenly seized again when instead of stepping onto solid ground, her foot was met with thin air. Her foot dropped along with the rest of her body as she fell from the portal. 

She landed face first in several feet of water with a splash. The impact sent water rushing up her nose which had her coughing and sputtering in disgust as she resurfaced. She blinked rapidly, wiping the water from her face as she tried to get her bearings. 

She had crash landed in a swamp of some kind. They water she knelt in was a murky green color and upon getting to her feet, she found that it only came up to just over her knees. There were enormous thorny vines everywhere, contorted into twists and spirals, they crept along the swamp in all direction. Where they ended or began was impossible to tell because a thick mist hovered over the swamp making it difficult to see more than twenty feet in front of her. Swamp grass and the occasional flower rose above the water on small mounds of soggy wet earth. It was dark out, but Serena couldn’t tell if it was due to the time of day or the black billowing clouds that blanketed the sky. She swatted at the insects that buzzed about her, desperately wishing for some bug spray. She _hated_ bugs. 

Swiping her dripping hair back from her face she looked over her friends. “Is everyone okay?”

“I think we’re fine.” Hay Lin looked around to verify with the others before nodding in confirmation. 

Everyone was soaked and covered in mud to varying degrees. Taranee was only soaked up to her waist. She must have been able to catch herself when she fell through the portal. ‘Lucky,’ Serena thought as she peeled her plastered shirt off her chest. She was sopping wet, and the air was already starting to chill her, making goosebumps raise on her skin as water dripped down her arms. 

“Wahoo!”

Serena turned around just as Irma jumped through the portal, cannon balling into the water beside her and sending up spray in all directions. Serena ducked to the side as quickly as possible, but her front still got hit by Irma’s splash, drenching her again. 

Irma gasped when she resurfaced. “Well that certainly wakes up your underwear.”

“Oh gosh can we not talk about that?” Serena pleaded, her face screwing up in a grimace. She did not want to think about the fact that she was covered head to toe in dirty swamp water with who knows what in it. She shuddered in disgust. “This is so gross.”

Hay Lin laughed at Serena’s plight but was nearly jerked off her feet when the Heart gave a particularly hard tug. 

“We must be getting closer,” said Taranee, bring them all back to the present. Serena had briefly forgotten as to why they had come through the portal in the first place. Now the danger of the situation was coming back to her, making her stomach turn. 

“Closer to what though?” she asked gravely, sharing a worried look with Taranee. 

No one had the courage to answer so they waded further into the swamp in silence. Serena cringed with every step as her shoes sunk into the squishy mud. She scanned the swamp nervously for a threat. This fog was putting her on edge. If anything were out there, they wouldn’t be able to see it until it was too late. A dark shadow appeared from within the gloom and Serena’s heart skipped a beat. It was just another one of the humongous vines. They stretched out beyond the five of them into the unknown. The more she studied them, the more they reminded her of something. She racked her brain but couldn’t remember where she had seen these vines before. 

“Cornelia don’t look down,” said Hay Lin, looking over her shoulder.

“That’s for heights you dimwit,” Cornelia hissed back. 

“I know,” Hay Lin continued, ignoring Cornelia’s attitude. “But if you see your reflection you’ll like completely freak.” 

Serena couldn’t help but chuckle quietly. Trust Cornelia being to butt of a joke to make her feel a little less unease. The mist began to thin around them until they came upon a body of open water. On the other side was a massive hunk of stone and root. It stretched up and up for several miles and at the top sat a castle. 

Serena gasped and stopped dead in her tracks, her blood running cold at the sight.

“What? What is it?” Irma turned looking around wildly before she settled on Serena’s petrified figure. She was white as a sheet and her wide eyes stared up at the castle, unblinking. 

“I know this place.” Serena’s voice was weak as she continued to gaze up at castle. “From my dream.” The castle, the thorns, everything was just like her nightmare from the first day of school. 

Hay Lin looked between her friend frozen in fear and the castle which loomed in front of them. If she had seen that in her dreams, she would have classified it as a nightmare. This thing was beyond creepy. Who needed a castle with so many spikes? The Heart was still pulling directly towards it so Will had to be inside. She approached the edge of the moat and crouched down to get a judge of how deep it was. 

Taranee’s eyes fell on the water beyond Hay Lin as it suddenly got darker. The shadow began to move across the moat, heading straight towards her. “Uh Hay Lin? I think there’s something in the water,” she warned. 

Not a second later a giant eel burst through the water’s surface, it reared high above them, water droplets spraying down on them as it roared, bearing hundreds of huge, razor sharp teeth. 

“Hay Lin!” Irma screamed, running up to her and snatching her arm, frantically pulling her away from the monster. 

Serena screamed as they ran from the water’s edge, ducking behind one of the giant thorny covered vines for cover. She hunched into a ball, sitting as still as she could as and braced herself for whatever happened next. Her ears were trained on the sound of the sea serpent thing, listening for movement. She waited, barely breathing, until she heard a large splash, hopefully signally it had submerged. She strained her ears for a few more seconds, and when she heard nothing but chattering insects and the water rippling did, she dare open eyes and look up. Irma was sitting next to her half crouched over Hay Lin who had her eyes scrunched shut and her hands over her ears. Uncurling slightly, she spotted Cornelia over the two of them pressing her front against the side of the thorny vine like she wished she could disappear inside it. 

Irma opened her eyes and met Serena’s before she started to straighten. She gently shook Hay Lin who opened her eyes and did the same. Serena in tandem with Irma turned to face the vine. Now she could see Taranee on her other side who was looking at the two of them fearfully. Serena gestured for her to stay down as she slowly rose to her feet. 

“No!” Taranee hissed as she grabbed her ankle, trying to pull her back down. 

Serena’s heart jumped into her throat at Taranee’s voice and she quickly shushed her, kicking her hand off. She froze and listened for a sign the monster had heard them. When she didn’t hear anything, she cautiously peaked her head over the top of the vine. 

Ripples radiated across the water’s surface from where the serpent had been but there was no sign of it. It must have gone back under water. Looking down at her friends she waved them up before turning back to the moat. Rustling signaled the girls getting to their feet as they joined her in looking over the water. 

“Okay, we’re not swimming across,” breathed Irma, her voice shaky as she tried to get her breathing back under control. 

Cornelia looked across the water to one of the small towers that jutted out of the castle wall above them. “Well I have sort of an idea.” 

They all broke their wary gaze from the moat to stare at her in shock. 

“Oh, don’t be so surprised,” she grumbled. She heaved herself to the top of the vine they were hiding behind and extended her arm out towards the castle. 

At first nothing happened but just as Serena began to wonder if she’d gone crazy, a vine creeping up the stone bricks of a guard tower detached itself and swung neatly into Cornelia’s outstretched hand. 

“Wow!” 

“That was so cool!”

They rushed to scale the vine to join Cornelia. They used the thorns sticking out from the vine as hand and footholds as they climbed though Serena nearly fell when her foot slipped against the damp bark. When they got to the top, they all reached out to grab the vine, but it resulted in them being jumbled up and nearly falling off. 

Cornelia rolled her eyes and jerked the vine out of their hands. “We can’t all hang on to the same place. Climb up the vine while I keep it steady.” 

“Can someone give me a boost?” asked Irma, grabbing the vine securely. 

Serena knelt down and put her hands over her knee. Irma put one foot into her open hands and pushed off when Serena stood from under her. She managed to get about five feet higher on the vine. She brought her feet together and managed to shimmy up another few feet before her foot slipped and she was left dangling. She tried to get her feet back up, but they kept slipping. “This is a far as I go,” she called down. 

“Ooo me next!” Hay Lin rushing over to Serena. She heaved the small Asian girl up and she grabbed a hold of the vine just under Irma’s knees. “It’s like a rope swing!” she said giddily. “You’re turn Taranee.”

Taranee flinched when her name was called, tugging on the vine, testing its strength. 

“Come on,” Serena beckoned. “The sooner you get on the sooner it’s over with.” 

Taranee whimpered, eyeballing the thin vine and placed her foot in Serena’s hands. “Don’t push me to hard,” she said quickly, grabbing ahold of Serena’s shoulder for balance. 

“Ok on three, ready?”

Taranee shook her head. “Uh, uh.”

Serena rolled her eyes. “One, two-“ On two she pushed up without warning. Taranee cried out in alarm, nearly toppling over but managed to grab the vine in both hands before she fell back down. She twirled an arm and leg around the vine for extra support.

“Now was that so hard?” Serena grinned up at her. 

“Just hurry up already,” Cornelia barked. Her feet digging into the bark beneath as she leaned all her weight backwards, trying to keep the vine in her grasp. 

“Ok, you hold on and I’m going to jump.” Serena started backing up to get a running start. 

“Don’t you dare-“ Cornelia’s protest was interrupted as Serena sprinted to the vine and leaned into the air, catching the vine just below Taranee. Unfortunately, her momentum proved too much for Cornelia and it pulled her off her feet. The vine started swinging back to the castle with the five girls in tow.

“Yeehaw!” Irma shouted in delight from the top as they swung over the moat towards the guard tower. 

They hit the guard tower hard, the vine crashing into the wall. At the impact, the girls lost their grip on the vine and tumbled onto the walkway of the tower. Serena landed on her shoulder and rolled a few times before sliding to a stop. She hissed, clenching her teeth as pain radiated down her back and arm. 

“Alright who’s not dead? Sound off.” She heard Irma croak from somewhere behind her.

Obliging her, Serena let out a groan as she rolled onto her stomach, the others following suit. She hauled herself to her feet and looked down. Her knees and shins were skinned, and she had a stinging scrape on her elbow that was bleeding. Aside from her shoulder, nothing seemed to be in too much pain to handle. She cradled her arm close to try and minimize the pain. 

“Um hello?!” Cornelia’s voice called out. “Can somebody pull me up?”

Serena looked around but she didn’t see her anywhere. Turning in the direction of her voice she found two hands clutching to the edge of the tower wall for dear life. She walked over, her knees burning as she along with the others grabbed Cornelia’s arms and heaved her over the battlements. She had to bite her tongue to keep from crying out in pain as the movement pulled at her shoulder.

“How much further?” Taranee groaned, hands braced on her knees. Serena checked her over, but she didn’t have any visible injuries thanks to her long sleeves and pants. 

“I don’t know but this thing is really starting to pull,” Hay Lin wheezed. She had the chain clenched in both firsts now and was leaning back in an effort to hold on. The Heart was dragging her towards the doorway of the tower. Inside was a dark spiral staircase leading down. 

They tiptoed down the stairs following the pull of the Heart. There were no windows, only the occasional torch on the wall provided light. They were weird torches too. They didn’t have visible fire and glowed with an eerie green light. The stairwell connected to several hallways as they traveled down. Thankfully, they’re were all empty as they walked past. The staircase seemed to go on forever until they finally reached the bottom where it connected to a long dark tunnel. There were no torches, so the only light came from the Heart which cast everything in a pink hue. The tunnel was made from roughly hewn stone interlocked haphazardly. Like the school basement, cobwebs stretched across corners and empty spaces in the wall where a stone or two had fallen. However, if the school basement had been bad, this place made it look like a five star resort. 

Cornelia, glancing around at her decrepit surroundings unknowingly walked headfirst into a cobweb that stretched across the tunnel. She sputtered and swiped at the web to bring it down and off her face. “Ugh, eww! And on picture day,” she whined. 

As they traveled down the tunnel, cells blocked off by huge iron bars appeared on either side of them. Some of the cell doors were heavily rusted and hung precariously on their hinges. It didn’t look like they had been used in a long time. They were in the castle dungeon, Serena realized, peering into one of the cells as they passed. She flinched back when she saw the Heart’s light bounce off something long and white. She swallowed hard and forced herself to look forward. 

The tunnel eventually came to an end and opened up into a huge cone shaped cavern nearly as wide as their gymnasium. The ceiling rose high above them and various spiked iron cages and chains hung from it. The walls above had wooden doors which connected to open staircases that hugged the walls as they came to the floor. In the center of the cavern were several circular pits. 

“Talk about nightmare fuel,” Serena commented under her breath. 

The Heart yanked Hay Lin forward towards the edge of one of the pits. It extended deep into the ground and was so dark they couldn’t see the bottom. They had no idea how far down it truly went. 

The Heart started to ring and chime, it’s ripples of light flashing erratically. 

“Will?!” Hay Lin guessed, calling down. Her voice echoing off the stone walls. 

“Hay Lin!” Serena heard Will yell back with relief. “I’m down here!” 

“Catch!” Hay Lin released the Heart’s chain and it floated down into the pit to Will.

All was silent for a few moments. Hay Lin strained her eyes, peering down into the pit. “Do you think she got it,” Hay Lin asked, turning towards them. 

Serena knelt down beside her and carefully crawled on her stomach to look over the edge. “I can’t tell.” 

Suddenly, a beam of pink light shot straight towards them, making Serena flinch back. For a split second she was expecting to be hit by something but when the familiar warmth enveloped her, she recognized the light for what it was. She let her body go loose as it drew up naturally into a fetal position. As she expected, the coolness rushed through her and the light faded. She blinked open her eyes and saw that sure enough, she and the other girls were in their Guardian forms. 

Irma walked over and looked down into the pit. Despite the light of the transformation, they still hadn’t been able to get a good look at Will or her condition. “Taranee, a little light?” she requested. 

With a twirl of the wrist, Taranee summoned a small red fireball. She managed to keep it flickering in her hand for a few moments before her control slipped. Instead of hovering above their heads as a light source, the fireball bounced out of her hand and fell into the pit below. “Whoops, sorry.”

As the fireball fell it illuminated the stone walls of the pit. A familiar head of red head lit up briefly in the firelight as it passed. Will flew up and over the edge of the pit and landed gently beside the girls as they cheered. “You came for me,” she breathed in disbelief. “You really are my friends. 

Cornelia smiled, her eyes flickering to the other four girls. “Well of course silly.” 

Serena’s smile faltered. She was tempted to remind Cornelia that she hadn’t wanted to come in the first place and was perfectly happy to leave Will to her fate. But she held back for Will’s sake, she didn’t want to spoil the moment. Her eyes scanned Will, searching for any blood or bruises. Thankfully, she seemed to be okay, or at least there was nothing outwardly wrong with her. “It’s good to see you in one piece,” she joked, nudging Will’s arm. 

“Yeah.” Will’s eyebrows rose like she was just as surprised as Serena was at that fact. 

A bang echoed throughout the cavern, cutting through the celebration. Serena froze as another one sounded above her head. She looked up in time to see one of the wooden doors burst open and dozens of humanoid beasts pour through. The creatures looked like someone had taken lumps of play dough, squished them into a vaguely human form and then gave them sharp teeth and yellow, milky eyes. They carried crudely formed axes, clubs, and swords; the metal dull in the torchlight. They raised their weapons and came charging down the stairs with a roar. 

“Is this place monster central or something?” Serena growled, her fists clenching as she faced the oncoming hoards. She looked around frantically for an escape route or some kind of weapon when a male voice called up from the pit Will had come from. 

“What are you doing up there?” 

“Is there someone else down there?” Serena briefly took her eyes off the swarming creatures to look at Will confused.

“Yeah, believe it or not it’s the rebel leader,” she shrugged. 

“The guy from the portal?” Irma asked, her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Huh. Guess we don’t need that recon mission after all.”

“Hello?!” The rebel leader shouted. 

“Right.” Will shook her head focusing. “Cornelia, Taranee, Serena block the stairs. Hay Lin find us an exit,” she directed. 

Serena nodded and zoomed into the air. Flying was a lot easier compared to last time. Later she’d think back and wonder if it was because her mind was focused on the monsters and not consciously trying to control her wings. She flew to the center of the room and assessed the two streams of beasts coming from the doors on either side of the room. 

Taranee flew into position on her left and yelled “Fire,” summoning another fireball. This one was big and burned a bright yellow. She flung it at the staircase in front of the monsters, breaking through the stone and leaving a wide gap. Several of the misshapen creatures tried to stop but their momentum pushed them forward. They fell through the gap to the stone floor below and laid still. 

To Serena’s right, Cornelia thrust her hands towards the opposite staircase where monsters were still coming down. “Earth!” Vines like those that had surrounded the castle burst from the stone, creating a woven wall blocking off the stairs. One of the creatures jumped to a hanging chain and took a swipe at Cornelia who just laughed at its pathetic attempt and flew out of its way. Other beasts followed its lead and leapt from the blocked off staircases and onto the chains hanging from the ceiling. They started climbing down in an effort to reach the floor unscathed. 

Serene looked around. Cornelia was busy on her staircase with some of the creatures attempting to cut through her barrier using their axes and swords. Taranee was also busy on the other side. The creatures on her staircase had taken to trying to jump the gap by getting a running start. Guess this new problem was up to her. 

“Shadow!” Serena felt the rush of coolness travel down her arms as two balls of flickering shadows appeared in her palms. She took aim and flung them at two of the creatures shimming down the chains. Instead of throwing them off like she had hoped, the shadows just knocked them around. Their grip was strong enough to keep them from falling as the rattling chains swung in the air. She brought her hands together and sent a cohesive blast at another monster. This time it managed to break the grip of one of its hands as it slammed into the creature’s side. The force pushed the monster and its chain to the side where it collided with another monster. The force of the impact jostled the creatures enough that they lost their grip and fell to the floor fifty feet below. 

That gave Serena an idea. Raising her arms in a circle, she summonsed a ring of shadows. Twirling her arm in the air, the ring began to grow. Once she deemed it big enough, she thrust it towards the chains. With her arms wide, she directed it to spin faster and faster. The shadows caught the chains and forced them and their riders to spin. The chains began to wind around each other in a giant knot until the beasts collided together before falling to the floor.

But no matter how many creatures she, Taranee, or Cornelia knocked back, more just kept coming. Plus, whatever these things were, they were tough because the ones on the ground were starting to pick themselves up. Will and Irma were too busy helping the rebel leader out of the pit, now full of water, to see the danger.

“Crap,” Serena muttered. She flew down to the group and stood with her back to them, arms out ready to face the incoming threat. “Hey guys,” she called back. “Whatever these things are they can take a hit. We need to get out of here.”

One of the beasts had gotten to its feet and charged towards them with a snarl, its hole ridden blade held high. Serena punched forward and a mass of shadows surged forward, hitting the creature square in the chest. It pushed the monster back into the wall where it slumped to the floor with a groan. 

Cornelia landed next to her in time to block another one who had rushed Serena’s blind spot. She summoned a stone block from the floor and flung it into the creature. The stone hit its head and it fell backward with a thud. “I blocked the stairs but it’s not going to hold for very long. What is that?”

At Cornelia’s disgusted voice, Serena turned and followed her pointed finger. Standing in front of Irma, Will and Taranee was what looked like some sort of goblin creature. It barely came up to her knees, had green leathery skin and a hog’s nose. It was dressed in a filthy tattered red tunic and its shoes were so worn that its feet stuck through the ends, revealing long, nasty looking toenails. Even from where Serena was standing, she could smell it. It stunk like rotten cabbages and what she imaged a skunk would smell like. 

Growling from behind made them all turn to see three of the lumpy ogre like creatures running towards them. Before any of the girls could defend themselves, Hay Lin suddenly appeared behind the creatures and with a strong gust of wind, sent them flying into the air and into one of the empty pits. “There’s a billion halls down here,” she reported, landing beside the girls. “It’s like this really cool maze. I mean cool if weren’t like y’know trapped in here and everything.” 

“Take Blunk, Blunk knows tunnel,” the goblin spoke surprising Serena with the fact. He grabbed Hay Lin’s hands pleadingly. “Secret way out.”

“He’s kind cute,” Hay Lin admitted, smiling weakly down at the disgusting creature. 

The sound of clinking drew Serena’s attention upwards. The beasts had grabbed onto the chains again and were lowering themselves towards her and the others. 

“We’ve got company!” she shouted in warning. 

“Time to go!” Will affirmed and they all took off running to one of the passageways branching off from the cavern. The goblin thing... Blunk... took the lead, running on all fours. Behind them the monsters had reached the floor and started chasing after them in hot pursuit. 

“They just keep coming,” Irma said hopelessly, looking over her shoulder. 

They turned a corner and passed through an open iron gate into another passageway when Cornelia stopped short.

“Cornelia what are you doing?” Serena yelled, skidding to a stop. 

Cornelia ignored her and pressed her hands together, “Earth!” Following the motion, the gate slammed shut and thick vines sprouted from beneath it, growing and intwining around the bars to create a thick barrier just as the hoard of monsters slammed into it. Serena flinched, expecting the creatures to break through but the barrier held. 

“Don’t just stand there,” Cornelia snapped, grabbing Serena’s hand as she flew past.

Serena yelped as she was pulled of her feet and wobbled in the air before she got her wings working again. They flew after the group, catching up with them just as Blunk stopped in front of one of the cells lining the passage. It’s wrought iron door had been partially ripped off its hinges and its mangled form rested against the wall. 

“Tunnel yes, under moat!” Blunk exclaimed, recognizing the destruction. He crawled into the cell and lifted a plank of wood leaning against the back wall. Behind the plank was a narrow tunnel but bars covered with mold blocked it off. “Bars, no!” Blunk cried, gripping the bars, and pulling desperately, his yellow eyes watering. 

A roar, louder and deeper than the guttural ones of the creatures from the cavern echoed through the tunnels. Shudders ran down Serena’s spine at the sound. They were running out of time.

“Stand back,” Taranee ordered, pushing her way to the bars as they crowded into the cramped cell. She snapped her fingers, a single jet of flame burst from the end of her fingertip. She pointed it at the bars and used it like a blowtorch to melt through them. It was slow going though. There were three bars and each one was as thick as Serena’s wrist. At this rate they’d all be captured and strung up like sausages in no time. 

“That’s what you get for trusting a smuggler,” the rebel leader hissed, glaring down at Blunk. He had led them from one corner to the next and with the Guardians as his soon to be cell mates, there would be no one to keep Phobos in check and lead the Rebellion. Escape would be impossible this time. Assuming Phobos let them live long enough to even make an attempt. 

Now that they were not being actively attacked -for the time being, she reminded herself- Serena took the opportunity to study the rebel leader. He was about two heads taller than her although he didn’t look much older. His brown hair hung messily in his eyes and he wore a medieval style coat over a loose white shirt and brown pants. He was seriously cute, but his face was hard as he glared daggers at Blunk. However, there was also a hint of wariness to him in the dark shadows under his eyes. 

Cornelia gave her own appraisal of their escape companion, noting his striking dark green eyes and lean shoulders. She was tall for her age, so she definitely appreciated any guy who was taller than her. “Who are you again?” 

“He’s the rebel leader,” Will reminded her.

“You’re the rebel leader?” parroted Cornelia, sounding very much impressed. 

The roar rippled down the hall again, this time sounding much closer. It was so loud, the creator could have been right outside the cell. 

“I’ll hold them off as long as I can.” The rebel jumped up, rushing to the cell entrance. 

“No!” Will protested, reaching after him. “You don’t have any powers.”

“Guarding the Veil is more important than one rebel fighter,” he said determinedly. “Oh, by the way, my name’s Caleb,” he smirked before running out into the open passage. 

“Wow,” Serena breathed, her eyes sparkling as she stared after him.

“I told you he was cute,” Irma mumbled, making Hay Lin giggle. 

“Hey snake face!” Caleb taunted down the hallway before turning and running out of sight. 

Serena’s brows furrowed. Snake face... Could he mean-? Her breath hitched when sure enough, Lord Cedric slithered in front of the cell door after Caleb. She froze but thankfully he didn’t see them as he passed. Soon after she heard Caleb’s screams echo down the passageway. 

“I’ve got it!” Taranee announced. She extinguished her flame and kicked in the last bar, breaking it off at the weld point. Without hesitation, Blunk was first into the tunnel and one by one the girls followed him. Serena turned back to the cell door, staring out into the empty space of the passageway. A part of her wanted to risk going after Caleb to try and bring him safely back with them. The other side wanted to take what may be the only chance at a clean escape. It made her feel horrible but as much as she had wanted to save Caleb, she also didn’t want to take his place. After an internal debate she crawled into the tunnel after Will, trying to ignore the guilt clenching her stomach. 

The tunnel ceiling was low to the point that her wings scraped against it no matter how tight she pulled them to her back. The tunnel should have been pitch black, there was no torch or light source to speak of. And yet, she could see Will and Irma in front of her, fumbling their way forward and bathed in shades of grey and blue. Will kept bumping her right shoulder into the wall so many times that Serena finally realized she was doing it on purpose. 

As they trudged forward on their hands and knees, her tights quickly became soaked at the knees from crawling through unknown sludge. If she didn’t know better, she would almost guess it was some kind of drainage tunnel they were crawling through. She quickly abandoned that thought as it immediately led to what _kind_ of drainage system it was a part of. Her stomach flipped unpleasantly as her hands squished into what she hoped was just soft mud. The lack of smell had to mean something though, right?

Serena didn’t know how long they crawled in that dank, dirty tunnel. She had no clue as to how deep in the castle they had been in the first place. They crawled in silence and her mind kept going back to Caleb and his sacrifice. She wondered if he had found another way out of the castle. Or if he’d been recaptured... or worse. She felt terrible but she also knew they hadn’t had much choice. If Caleb hadn’t gotten their attention there was a good chance that Cedric and his hoard of monsters would have searched the passageways until they found them. Given how close Cedric had been when Caleb ran, she figured it wouldn’t have been long. That didn’t stop her from feeling sick with guilt or imaging horrible what if scenarios. As much as it pained her to admit it, if he got captured again, she doubted they would have a chance to rescue him. Cedric would probably have him killed to prevent the possibility. 

“I see a light!” yelled Irma from in front. Now that she mentioned it, Serena noticed that she was starting to pick up more colors than just grey and blue. She could see Will’s red hair and the pink of her shirt. The dim light grew until she saw the opening of the tunnel. Once she was out of the tunnel she got to her feet, wincing. Her muscles were tight as she stretched her back and flexed her wrists which were sore from crawling for so long. The tunnel emptied out into a drain bed in front of the moat. 

“Uh guys... Where’s the portal?” Will asked, scanning the horizon. 

Irma looked around but all she could see was misty swampland. “Uh...” 

“The portal gives off light, right?” Taranee asked rhetorically. “If we fly above the fog, we should be able to spot the portal.” 

Will nodded and they took to the air, flying over the moat. Serena searched the water’s depths for a dark mass as they crossed just in case the sea serpent decided to make a reappearance. But the water’s surface remained undisturbed. Blunk climbed an overhanging vine, using it as a makeshift bridge before jumping off and running alongside the Guardians. 

“I see it!” yelled Hay Lin, pointing in the distance. Serena flew higher to get a better vantage point, following the line of Hay Lin’s hand. Taranee had been right, she could just make out the blue glow of the portal through the mist about a two hundred yards in front of them. 

“Thank goodness,” Cornelia grumbled. “Let’s get out of here.” 

They dived towards the portal but Will suddenly stopped short, her face screwing up as she looked back at the castle. “I’m going back for Caleb,” she said solemnly. Something in Serena’s stomach tightened at the words. The guilt that has been hanging over her shoulders had started to lift but she didn’t like the idea of Will going alone. Especially since she had just been rescued and the fact that she didn’t have any defensive powers if she were to get in trouble again. 

“No!” Hay Lin protested, flying to hover in front of her. “I fly better than you, actually chickens fly better than you.” 

“And I’m going with you,” Serena volunteered, flying to her side. The idea of going back into that creepy castle made her nerves buzz but there was no way she was letting sweet Hay Lin go in alone. “You’re gonna need someone to watch your back while you carry him.” 

Will looked at as if she were about to argue but her eyes hardened when she saw the steady resolve in theirs. She rushed forward to wrap her arms around the two girls in a grateful hug. “Be careful,” she told them as she pulled away. 

“We will,” Serena swore, placing her hand on Will’s shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Hay Lin gave Will a cheeky wink before they both flew off back towards the castle, their forms quickly disappearing in the mist. 

As they flew, a troubling thought came to Serena’s mind. “Um Hay Lin, how do we find him?” 

Hay Lin pulled up, looking at her worriedly. “I didn’t think of that,” she confessed. The two shared a nervous glance but continued forward. After flying over the moat, they tried to find the drain from before. Unfortunately, there was a whole line of them coming out of the wall and they weren’t sure which one they had come out of. 

“Let’s try this.” Hay Lin pointed to a crack in the castle wall. Some of the stone blocks had started to crumble leaving a small gap. Peering through the opening, Serena could see a corridor inside that looked similar to the ones they were running down in the dungeons. 

“Are you sure?” Serena asked. She could barely see the opposite wall of the hallway let alone anything that might be lurking inside. 

Hay Lin shrugged. “Do you have a better idea?” 

Serena shook her head and watched as Hay Lin wiggled into the hole. The gap itself was tiny, barely as wide as Serena herself. It was going to be a tight fit; she’d have to go in sideways. Hay Lin managed to squeeze through okay but then again, she was as skinny as a twig. Serena had a bit more muscle tone especially in her legs thanks to skateboarding all the time. Once Hay Lin was through Serena quickly began her attempt, not wanting to be caught out in the open. The crack was about five feet higher than she was, so she had to fly to even access it. She brought her arms up and flew directly at the gap in a diving position. Once she got her shoulders through, she had to stop flapping her wings. The thick stone supported some of her weight, but her feet were still scrambling against the outside of the wall for a foothold. 

“Pull me through.” She outstretched her arms to Hay Lin who grabbed onto her wrists and pulled, flapping hard. 

“Ow, ow, ow!” Her wings scraped against the stone as she was pulled forward. Once her wings were free enough to start flapping again, she supported her weight through flight and pushed back on the stone with her hands to wiggle her hips and legs through. Once she was free the two of them sped down the passageway, their eyes, and ears keen for any sign that might indicate the presence of Caleb or an enemy. 

The corridor suddenly switch from stone blocks to a tunnel of roughly carved red rock. At the end of the tunnel there was an enormous cavern with a huge drop off. Serena searched hard but couldn’t see the bottom, it just kept going. Above, tunnels like the one they had come from branched off the cavern in all different directions. 

“Come on.” Serena whirled around at the sound of Caleb’s voice, but she couldn’t see him anywhere. 

“I’ll make a purse out of you,” he taunted. “What side do you want the zipper on?” His voiced echoed throughout the cavern, seeming to come from every direction at once and making it impossible to figure out which tunnel he was in. 

A roar bounced off the walls in response, sounding louder and closer than Caleb’s voice had a few seconds ago.

“They’re coming!” Hay Lin hissed, grabbing Serena’s arm, and pulling her into one of the tunnels. They hovered anxiously near the entrance as the echo of running footsteps slowly got louder. Below them, Caleb emerged from a different tunnel skidding to a stop at the edge of the cliff face. A few rocks tumbled off the ledge and into the endless abyss below. 

Serena’s breath hitched as Cedric appeared behind him, hissing in fury and raised his thick green tail. He slammed it into Caleb and sent him over the edge of the cliff, screaming. 

Serena gasped and went to fly after him, but Hay Lin jerked her back, shaking her head. Serena struggled, pulling at the arm in Hay Lin’s grasp as her head swiveled from her friend to Caleb’s shrinking figure. 

Cedric roared in triumph as he watched the rebel leader fall to his death before turning and slithering back into the tunnel.

After a moment Hay Lin released Serena and she took off like a shot into the gorge with Hay Lin close on her heels. She could hear Caleb screaming below her, but she couldn’t see him, he was too far down. She grit her teeth and pushed her wings to go faster. Soon a flailing dark brown blob appeared in her vision, slowly morphing into Caleb’s terrified form. When she got close enough to see his face she reached out, pushing past the wind resistance, and called down to him. “Caleb! Take my hand!”

She wasn’t sure if her could hear her over the rush of wind, but he opened his eyes and met hers. His screams turned into garbled shouts of frustration as he twisted wildly against nothing, trying to turn himself towards them. He couldn’t do much beyond extending his arms towards them, but it was enough for Serena to grab his coat sleeve. She immediately forced her wings into reverse, trying to stop their free fall. However, the sudden stop caused them to jerk and his coat slipped out of her hands. His eyes widened as he fell another few feet but Hay Lin managed to grab the collar of his jacket and keep him from falling further. They both grunted from the resulting jolt, but Hay Lin frantically flapped her wings to steady them. Serena swooped down and locked her hand around his forearm, Caleb doing the same. She winced as his fingers dug into her arms but ignored the pain and beat her wings in time with Hay Lin. Together, they managed to stop their descent and maintain a strained hover. 

“Hold on,” Hay Lin said to the two of them as she let go of Caleb’s jacket. He immediately swung his other arm to grab a hold of Serena but the sudden difference in weight distribution caused her to dip in the air. Hay Lin quickly grabbed his other arm and after securing her grip, turned to Serena. “Ok let’s go.”

The two girls flapped their wings in unison and the three of them slowly began to rise. They picked up steam as they went until they flew up and out the gorge. Caleb’s boot clipped the wall as they flew, jostling Hay Lin. “Wow,” she huffed, readjusting her grip. “You’re heavy.”

Caleb tried to respond but his voice was lost as he sucked in air greedily. His head was spinning, he could barely focus on the walls around him without feeling sick. “There’s - there’s a - hallway - at the - top,” he eventually gasped, nodding upwards, before slumping in their grip. 

Serena and Hay Lin put on the pressure and they zoomed upwards. A ceiling soon came into view as did the opening of another corridor. It was bigger than the tunnels they had past and was completely made from stone blocks instead of bare rock. As they flew down it, it eventually started to widen. Torches began to appear on the walls and the roughly hewn blocks began to transition into smoothly carved bricks. Light from a large window spilled onto the floor in front of them and they ducked through it without a second thought. 

Flying in the open air back to the portal, Hay Lin glanced down at Caleb, who admittedly looked a little dazed, and then Serena who was determinedly looking forward. “So, do you have a girlfriend by any chance? Asking for a friend.” 

Serena’s jaw dropped as she turned to look at her friend in horror. To make it worse, Hay Lin had the audacity to smirk and wink at her. Her eyes widened as she stared at her in shock. She couldn’t believe Hay Lin had just said that. 

“What?” Caleb breathed, his head rolling back to look up at them.

“Nothing!” Serena blurted. At Caleb’s furrowed brows she frantically looked around for something to distract him and ended up spotting the other Guardians hovering by the portal. “Hey look there’s the portal!” 

Thankfully, he looked away as she and Hay Lin changed angles and swooped down. They started to pull up as they got closer to the portal, but they underestimated their momentum and Caleb slipped from their grasp. Serena went to snatch at his hand, but his fingers barely grazed hers as he fell. Luckily for him they weren’t that high up, so he ended up only falling a short distance before splash landing in front of the portal. 

“Sorry!” Hay Lin called down as he resurfaced, shaking his hair out. 

Caleb spat out swamp water and scowled up at her when the ground under him started to shake. He cried out in surprise as he was thrown off his feet when a fifty foot tall gargoyle rose up from beneath him. It was massive and towered above them and the portal. It had a single giant red eye like a cyclops and huge pointy teeth too big for its mouth. Hair the color of dried moss hung in matted strands from its boulder for a head. On its right side it had a muscular arm and a twig like leg while on its other side it had a skinny arm and a thick leg. 

Its roar ripped a scream from Serena’s throat as she pinwheeled in the air, trying to turn away as fast as possible. The other Guardians took flight and together they flew around the monster in circles, trying to keep its attention distracted. Serena’s stomach dropped when the monster decided to take a swipe at her with its meatier hand. She managed to covert her trajectory into a back flip just as the hand closed around the space she had just been. 

“Water!” Irma brought her hands together and shot a jet of water straight for its head. It swirled through the air before hitting the gargoyle in the face, blinding it. It snarled furiously and brought its smaller arm up to wipe its eye.

While it was disorientated, Hay Lin blew a large gust of wind against its back. The blustering wind pushed up waves and threw the gargoyle off balance, sending it careening backwards. 

Serena saw her chance and flew towards it from behind. “Shadow!” It flailed its mismatched arms, trying to regain its balance but Serena send a torrent of shadows at the back of its knees. The force of the impact cause its knees to buckle and it fell backward into the swamp sending huge waves and chunks of mud surging outwards. 

“Earth!” Cornelia circled the downed monster and stretching her arms out, summoned the mud and sludge out from under it. The soggy earth of the swamp rose up around the gargoyle, gathering into a dripping ball above its head. She snapped her fingers with a smirk and the ball of mud dropped onto the gargoyle, covering it head to toe in mud, creating a sticky prison under all that weight. 

“Fire!” Taranee slung a white hot fireball at the mass of mud and monster. It circled the creature, its intense heat baking the mud and making it hard as rock. By the time the fireball extinguished, the gargoyle was trapped under a solid casing of earth. 

With the monster down and out, they regrouped in front of the portal. Serena landed cautiously in the water, watching the mound with narrowed eyes for movement. The hunk of earth was still but only for a moment before a deep growling came from within. It began to tremble as cracks appeared in the earth lining and the gargoyle burst forth in a shower of dirt and rocks with an infuriated roar.

“Time to go!” yelled little Blunk from beside the girls before he took off, scrambling for the portal. 

The others followed him, everyone racing towards the portal and to safety. The gargoyle stomped after them, each step sending tremors through the ground. Caleb and Blunk reached the portal first and ran through without any hesitation. One by one the girls flew through the portal in a shower of blue lightning, landing in the school basement on the other side. Serena flew into the portal at full speed and had to swerve hard when she nearly flew face first into a boiler on the other side. 

Irma was the last through the portal and just as she emerged on the other side, the gargoyle reached in after her, encasing her in its giant hand. It started to drag her back through the portal just like Cedric had with Caleb. 

“Will!” she screamed, writhing fiercely to try and get loose. 

Unlike last time, Will reacted immediately, summoning the Heart, and brandishing it at the portal. Pink lightning erupted from the Heart, meeting the blue lightning of the portal. It flashed and swirled to a close around the monster’s hand, severing it at the wrist. The stone fist crashed to the ground and shattered, releasing Irma from its grasp. The girls rushed forward as one to envelope Irma in a group hug, overcome with joy that their friend hadn’t been taken. 

“That was way too close,” Serena said, stepping back and placing a hand over her racing heart. 

“You think?” said Irma. Serena let out a wheezy laugh as she panted, trying to catch her breath. She took a few steps back before dropping to the floor with a huff, leaning against the broken down boiler. 

Hay Lin looked at the busted pieces of stone surrounding them. It looked like a giant sculpture had been accidentally dropped. Scattered along the floor were recognizable stone fingers as thick and round as the A/C units rumbling above their head. “Uh Will, how do we get rid of all this?”

“Oh uh...” she looked over the damage before glancing at Cornelia hopefully. “Cornelia do you think you could-“

“Please,” she waved Will off. She outstretched her hand before clenching it into a fist and drawing it back. The enormous pieces of stone shook before cracking apart into smaller and smaller pieces. “Hay Lin?” she beckoned. 

Hay Lin took a deep breath and blew, sending the now tiny particles of dirt floating down the hallway to join the rest of the dust. 

Irma’s eyebrows rose, impressed. “Wow. Talk about burying the evidence.”

Will held up the Heart and sent out a wave of pink energy, reverting the girls back to their human forms. And back to their picture day outfits which had been thoroughly wrecked by the swamp. Serena suddenly became aware of the state of her body when her shoulder started throbbing again. Mottled bruises were starting to develop on her knees. The scrape on her elbow the still red but no long bleeding. Her white denim vest was stained with mud and she felt a crustiness on her skin which could only come from a layer of dried dirt. She probably looked like she had been hit by a bus, she felt like it too. 

“Can you believe we did that?” Cornelia asked incredulously, brushing down her arms and pant legs. 

“That was so unreal,” Irma agreed, unsticking her shirt from her skin. “Talk about teamwork.” 

“What happened to your face,” Will asked Cornelia, gesturing to her chin. 

Cornelia rubbed at the blue and purple bruise forming on her jawline as Hay Lin jumped in to explain. “When we swung across the moat Cornelia George of the Jungled into the wall. Wham!” she said, pounding her fist. 

Blunk suddenly hissed making Serena, who had forgotten he was there, jump. He raced past Cornelia who screamed, thinking he was coming for her. He climbed up the pipes on the wall and disappeared around a corner. 

“Crap, we have to catch him before somebody sees him!” Serena jumped up ran to the corner of the hallway. She searched the equipment covered walls and ceiling, but he had disappeared. 

“We’ll never find him down there,” Taranee said hopelessly, moving to stand next to her, looking down the empty hall. 

“Don’t bother,” said Caleb. “Passlings are famous for being slippery thieves. You’re not going to catch him unless he wants to be found. So..” he looked around, scanning the metal pipes, hinges and other machines. “What dangers are in this place?”

“Well, there’s the cafeteria food,” Taranee quipped making Serena roll her eyes, nudging her in the side. 

“Uh hey guys?” Hay Lin raised her hand. “What do we do with him?” she asked jerking her thumb towards Caleb. 

“Did Yan Lin mention ever say anything about a Guardian safe house for inter-dimensional travelers?” Irma asked her. 

Hay Lin shook her head. 

“Well I don’t know about you guys, but my mom has a strict ‘no boys at sleepovers’ rule,” said Will, tapping her foot nervously. 

“He has to go somewhere,” Cornelia insisted. 

“Uh _he_ is still here,” Caleb reminded them with a frown. “And I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Oh yeah?” Serena said before she could stop herself. “How do you plan on surviving in a world you know nothing about? For all you know our air could be poisonous.”

Caleb‘s eyes widened, and he looked around nervously. 

“Don’t worry it’s not,” she amended quickly, feeling bad for teasing him. The guy had just left his entire planet behind after being on the run from a snake monster and imprisoned in a pit. They should probably cut him some slack. 

He narrowed his eyes at her, making her look away. ‘Great first impression Serena,’ she chastised herself. 

“Ugh, let’s just take him to Yan Lin and let her deal with him,” Cornelia groaned. “I need at least an hour long soak in the master bath.” She itched at a flaky spot on her shoulder, grimacing in disgust at the flecks of grime that peeled off. 

“Yeah we should probably get out of here before someone sees us,” said Will. Then she stopped and looked around. “Um, where are we?”

“The school basement,” Taranee answered nonchalantly. 

Will’s eyes widened. “The portal was at the school?!” 

“Hey, we don’t have any control over them, remember?” Cornelia sneered. 

Will sighed resignedly. “How do we get out of here?”

“There should be a stairwell at the end of this hallway. We came in through a maintenance door on a higher level,” Taranee answered, beckoning them to follow her as she headed off in that direction. As they walked down the hallway they had to repeatedly stop and reach back for Caleb who kept getting distracted by all of the machines and technology around him. When they had climbed to the top of the stairwell, Taranee slowly turned to doorknob, opening the door just a crack to peak outside. As far as she could see, the school courtyard was empty. She looked up at the clock tower above the school entrance, its ornately twisted metal hands read 11:27. They had been gone for three hours!

“Ok, classes are still in session,” said Taranee, turning around to face the group. “But the first lunch period is about to start so there’s a chance we might run into people.”

“So, besides the fact that we all look like a hot mess, how conspicuous are we?” asked Will. 

Simultaneously the six girls all turned to look at Caleb. A new face at school didn’t necessarily mean anything but his clothes were another story. 

“Maybe we can pretend he’s from the theater class?” Hay Lin suggested. 

“Oh yeah,” Irma rolled her eyes. “Because it’s the third day of school and they’re already on dress rehearsals.”

“Look just stay here and we’ll run in, grab our stuff and meet you here,” Will told Caleb who crossed his arms at the idea of told what to do. “If you see anyone coming just run and hide and we’ll find you.”

“I know what to do, I’m not an idiot,” he snapped, glaring at her. 

“Okay...” Will drawled, once again sick of his attitude. She peaked out the door. “Alright, ready? Now!” She yanked the door open and the girls ran through as fast as they could without tripping over each other. Caleb caught the door and crouched down, letting it slide almost complete closed but leaving a sliver for him to see through.

“Ok everybody act casual,” said Irma placing her hands in her pockets. 

“Easy for you to say,” Taranee whispered, eyes darting around nervously. 

They hunched over as they passed the windows looking into the courtyard classes, crossing their fingers that nobody looked out as they passed. Once they got into the building they immediately split up and speed walked as fast as they dared to their respective lockers. Serena messed up the combination for her padlock the first time she tried to open it due to nerves. There wasn’t anyone in the hallway, but she still felt like she was being watched. She got the combo right the second time and pulled out her backpack, shoving her lunchbox and folders inside. 

The lunch bell rang, making her squeak as she nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked around to see if anybody had noticed but the students flooding the hallway didn’t give her a second glance. Breathing a sigh of relief, she swung her backpack over her shoulder and headed for the courtyard. She found Hay Lin and Irma already waiting for her when she realized their mistake.

Kids who had packed their lunches were already starting to sprawl throughout the courtyard to eat. She kept her head down as she joined Irma and Hay Lin, standing off to the side. “What are we going to do?” she whispered. 

“Don’t look at me, Taranee’s the smart one,” Irma hissed back. “Let’s just wait for the others.”

Not long after, Cornelia, Taranee and Will walked out the doors, their eyes roving over the growing mass of students in the courtyard, coming to the same realization Serena had. 

“Now what?” Cornelia asked quietly, as they clustered together in a tight bunch.

“He can’t just walk out of here, everyone will see him!” said Hay Lin, gesturing to the growing populace. 

“What if he got rid of his coat?” Taranee suggested. “I know he’s not wearing jeans but they’re not that much different from our clothes.”

“But what is he going to do with the jacket?” Will countered. 

Serena pondered for a moment before her face lit up. “I’ve got it,” she announced, zipping open her backpack. “Here hold these.” She pulled out her lunchbox and a couple notebooks and folders, handing them to Irma. “Do you think it will fit?” she asked, holding up the backpack to show its main compartment. 

“It might work,” Will said cautiously, trying to mentally gauge how big Caleb’s coat was. 

“What do you want me to do with these?” Irma asked, readjusting Serena’s stuff in her arms. 

“Just put them in your backpack,” she called back as she started walking towards the maintenance door. “I’ll meet you guys at the gate.” She crossed the courtyard, eyes searching the heads of munching students for anyone watching her. When she got to the door, she saw movement through the crack as Caleb stood to his feet. She met his eyes though the slit and motioned subtly with her hand to hold on. She leaned casually against the brick wall, scanning the crowd once more to make sure no one was looking. Her heart started to race with adrenaline, and she had to hold herself back from simply bolting through the door. Once she deemed it safe enough, she grabbed the knob and opened the door, calmly slipping through. 

Caleb stepped back as she entered and watched as she pulled the door almost to a close, double checking through the crack before turning and pulling off a strange looking satchel from her back. The movement pushed the door open a little, but she let it swing shut, catching it at the last minute with her hips to make it close silently. 

“Put your coat or cloak or whatever it is in here.” She tugged on what looked like a metal string and her satchel parted seamlessly at the top. 

“What is that?” He asked, eyes roving over the rough fabric and countless metal strings.

“A backpack now hurry!” she hissed, jerking the satchel at him. 

“Why do I have to take my coat off?” He asked but nevertheless starting to pull his arms through the sleeves. 

“So, you don’t look like a total weirdo,” she snapped nervously. She took his coat from his hands and bundled it up into a ball before shoving it into the backpack. She zipped it closed and turned around opening the door just a smidge to peak out. As she turned, the inflated backpack swung with her and Caleb had to take a step back to avoid being hit. 

“Ok, when we go out don’t make eye contact with anyone,” she told him, still looking through the door. “Just follow me and it’ll look like we’re just going off campus for lunch. 

“ _I know_ , this isn’t my first time sneaking out,” Caleb growled, getting irritated with being treated like a child. 

“Ok well put your subtlety skills to good use because here we go.” 

At that Serena opened the door, reaching back and pulling Caleb out on her heels. He yanked his arm out of her grasp, meeting her frantic glare with one of his own before doing what she said resignedly. He kept his head lowered as he followed her, keeping in line with her back. But that didn’t stop him from checking out his surroundings from the corner of his eyes. 

The sun was bright, much brighter than it was in Meridian. Caleb risked a peak up at the sky. The clouds were bright here too. They were white and puffy compared to the dark ashy clouds that covered the sky back home. He was surrounded by kids, some of them younger than him, some of them older. They all wore strange clothes made from brightly colored fabrics. They didn’t look like nobles, nor did they act like them, Caleb thought to himself as he saw two large boys tipping another kid into a barrel while an orange spikey haired kid laughed. 

Before him was a large stone building. It looked like a bizarrely shaped cathedral. Looking through one of the enormous glass windows - this place had to be filthy rich - were more kids sitting at little tables watching a man write on a black wall. He made out the words “history” and what he assumed was the man’s name. Then it hit him, this was some sort of school! It must have been one of those cathedral associated universities. It seemed a little raucous for a religious institution though.

“There they are,” Serena said quietly in front of him. 

He looked up to see the rest of the Guardians standing in a metal arch, watching the two of them approach nervously. 

“Everything good?” Serena asked when they stopped next to them. 

With her attention elsewhere, Caleb straightened up and got a better look at the enormous buildings that surrounded the university. They were covered in glass and some were even taller than Escanor castle. Earth was incredible. 

“Yeah. I just called my Grandma,” answered Hay Lin, snapping her flip phone closed. “She should be here any minute.”

A car horn honked, and they all turned to see the Lin’s cargo van parked down the street. Yan Lin waved at them from the front seat. 

“Come on,” Serena told Caleb. His frown deepened but he followed the Guardians to what he could only assume was some kind of horseless chariot. 

Hay Lin pulled on the handles, opening the back doors, and gestured for them to climb inside. “Everybody in.”

They scurried into the back of the van, sitting against the walls since there were no seats. The Lin’s primarily used the van for catering and delivery. 

Yan Lin turned around and leveled her eyes on Caleb, who unconsciously sat up a little straighter under her scrutiny. “So, this is the rebel leader?”

“Yeah, we’ll explain everything back at the Silver Dragon,” Hay Lin promised as she pulled the doors shut and took a seat next to Serena. 

Yan Lin’s lips pressed into a thin line as she gave Caleb a hard look before turning around and starting the van.

The vehicle sputtered and rumbled to life under Caleb. He jumped and tried to scramble to his feet, but it moved under him, throwing him back into the wall. 

“It’s fine,” Serena assured him, raising her hand to stop him from moving. “It’s uh...” she struggled to find an analogy he might understand. She raked her brain for medieval forms of transportation but couldn’t come up with anything besides a horse and wagon. She really ought to take a history class since she’ll be running around a planet that was essentially stuck in the Middle Ages. “It’s a magical cart- wagon- chariot thing without horses or whatever you guys use. It’s called a van,” she explained. She winced internally but that was all she could think of. 

Caleb narrowed his eyes at her skeptically but lowered himself back on the floor, pulling his knees up and planting his hands firmly on the floor for support. 

For the next few minutes, they drove in silence. Serena did her best to not just outright stare at their new acquaintance. Hay Lin on the other hand had no such qualms as she stared unabashedly at Caleb. His eyes flickered to hers a few times before looking away hurriedly. Finally, he got fed up and met her eyes head on. “What?” He snapped. 

“Oh!” Hay Lin grinned. “I just wanted to say my name’s Hay Lin.”

Caleb looked at her incredulously. That’s why she had been staring at him with an ever widening smile for the past five minutes? He nodded as politely as he could and went back to staring at the floor. From the corner over his eye he could see that the girl... Hay Lin, was still looking at him expectantly. He sighed, “Caleb,” he told her quickly. He physically shifted away from her, hoping she’d get the hint but apparently, she wasn’t finished. 

“And this is Cornelia, Irma, Taranee and Will.” 

Caleb looked up and followed Hay Lin as she pointed towards the other Guardians in turn. Will. She was the Guardian leader that had been thrown into the oubliette with him. Once he finished looking them over, making sure their faces were in his head, his eyes turned to the girl who had led him through the courtyard. She remained fixated on the door handle beside her head. 

When Hay Lin saw the way Serena was pointedly avoiding meeting Caleb’s eyes she smiled deviously. “Oh, and this is Serena.” She threw an arm around her shoulders and tugged her in close. 

Serena threw Hay Lin’s arm off her, glaring at her for a moment before finally looking at Caleb. “Hi,” she said shyly, her cheeks tinging a light pink. 

Caleb’s brows furrowed when Serena averted her eyes after barely a second. She seemed determined to ignore him. Not that he was complaining, he wished all of the girls would just leave him alone and stop looking at him like he was an alien from another planet. Although technically, that’s what he was. He huffed and kept his eyes glued to his shoes, pointedly ignoring the curious glances the other Guardians threw him. The rest of the ride thankfully remained silent. He only looked up when he felt the... van... stop.

Serena too finally turned away from the back door she had been leaning against when the van pulled to a halt. She risked sneaking a glance at Caleb who was watching Yan Lin step out of the driver’s seat with eagle like precision. She’d noticed that he seemed to look at everything like he was analyzing it and tucking it into the back of his mind to peer at later. Of course, that could just be due to the fact that he was on another planet that happened to be like five hundred years ahead of his own. However, his piercing gaze didn’t waver even when directed at one of them. It made Serena feel like he was picking them apart. It was seriously unnerving even with his pretty green eyes. 

She got to her feet and pulled on the handle for the back door. The lock released and she pushed the door open, jumped down onto the pavement. They were in the cramped alley behind the Silver Dragon right in front of the kitchen’s delivery entrance. The other girls filed out of the van followed by Caleb who stepped down warily, scanning his environment, eyes never resting on one spot for long. 

Yan Lin unlocked the kitchen’s back door and held it open. “This way.” They shuffled into the kitchen and followed her into the restaurant. She led them to a corner table by the windows before returning to the kitchen. The girls took a seat at the table, but Caleb opted to stand back by the window instead of joining them. After a few minutes of awkward silence Yan Lin reemerged through the swinging doors pushing a tea cart. As she poured them all a cup of tea Serena couldn’t help but be reminded of the other night when they had gathered in a similar way after the portal fight. However, this time they sat together in triumph instead of defeat. 

“Now then,” said Yan Lin, taking a seat and folding her hands. “Start from the beginning.”

Like last time, the girls took turns telling the story, each describing their part in the impromptu rescue mission. Despite the happier tale, Serena could help noticing how Yan Lin’s eyes twitched when she told her about how she stopped the monsters coming down from the chains. Although her eyes seemed to soften when Hay Lin recounted how they rescued Caleb from the gorge together. 

Even Caleb chimed in to fill in some details. Apparently, the pit they had found him and Will in was called the Oubliette and the monsters they had fought were known as Lurdens. They weren’t intelligent enough to hold a place in Phobos’s guard, but they had enough brute strength to make up his labor force and a good portion of his army. The giant gorge the rescued him was the Abyss of Shadows. It really was bottomless so whoever was thrown in would fall forever. 

Irma told Yan Lin about how they had fought the gargoyle and how she had nearly been captured. “It was so great!” she insisted, telling her part of the adventure with a dramatic flair. “We fought and we flew and then that slimo creepo thing Blunk escaped into the pipes.”

“Think he’ll be okay in there?” asked Hay Lin, doodling on her hand with a waiter’s pen. 

“If he comes up under the girl’s locker room, I’m switching schools,” Taranee promised. “It was pretty intense though.”

Hay Lin made a couple more marks on her hand before suddenly squealing and sitting up excitedly. “And look what I figured out our initials spell!” She held up her palm which between various squiggles and flowers, had the first letters of their names arranged to spell W.I.T.C.H.’S. 

“Um ‘witches’ is actually spelled with an ‘e’,” Taranee informed her, pushing up her glasses. “You’ve written the possessive form of a singular witch.”

“Oh, who cares,” Irma rolled her eyes. “The main thing is the bad guys didn’t get our new best friend.” Will jumped up and tackled her in a hug which the other girls quickly joined in, making it a big group hug. 

Yan Lin sat the empty tea pot on the restaurant bar. “Oh, Prince Phobos didn’t want Will,” she corrected.

“What?!” The others gasped in shock. 

“Only her power. I fear he wants another, one who’s battle is yet to come,” she said gravely. 

As if Yan Lin’s words couldn’t get any more ominous, thunder rumbled above their heads as the sky darkened and it began to storm, hard. 

Caleb stared out the window at the grim scene, contemplating Yan Lin’s words. His thoughts were disturbed when he saw Serena approach him in the windows reflection. ‘Great,’ he thought, resisting the urge to sigh. He could hear the other girls whispering among themselves, pondering as to who Phobos could be searching for. He had a pretty good idea who it was though he wasn’t about to share that information with the Guardians. He could tell that they barely had a handle on their powers. If he told them he was searching for the heir to the Meridian throne, they would just get in his way. 

He didn’t say anything to Serena as she stopped beside him, keeping his eyes fixed on the horizon. She glanced at him but quickly turned to join him in gazing out the window. They stood in silence for a few moments with Caleb wishing she would either tell him what she wanted or go away. 

“Are you okay?”

At first Caleb didn’t register the words she had spoken. “What?”

“Are you okay?” she repeated, finally turning to look up at him. “I mean for a guy who was imprisoned, tortured and then thrown headfirst into another world you seem to be handling it pretty well. So, are you really doing okay or...?”

He looked down at the icy blonde girl. She only came up to his shoulder but looks could be deceiving. Akora was only 5’4 and she had kicked his butt on multiple occasions. It seemed she had gotten over whatever issue she had in the van because she was actually meeting his eyes. At first, he struggled to connect her to an element but then he remembered the burst of black mist she had shot at the Gargoyle’s back at the portal. From what he had seen, her powers didn’t match any description of the Guardians he had read about. 

Realizing he been staring at her in silence for a while he cleared his throat and straitened up, facing the window again. “I’m fine,” he answered. He’d been in tougher situations than this. He could handle himself, he didn’t her need concern.

“Are you sure?” she pressed, shifting closer, making him stiffen. “If you’re hurt I’m sure Yan Lin has a first aid kit somewhere. I’m not really good with anything outside of standard skateboarding injuries but-“ 

“I said I’m fine,” he snapped. From the corner of his eye, he saw her shrink into herself from his dismissal. 

“Oh ok,” she said in a small voice, turning to leave. 

Caleb had to resist rolling his eyes. Girls and their easily hurt feelings, they had to take everything personally. However, he probably shouldn’t be alienating the Guardians of the Veil of all people. Despite their inexperience they could prove useful to him. And though it pained him deeply to admit it, he would need their help to survive on Earth at least until a new portal opened. “Wait.” 

He blinked when she spun around quickly, looking up at him eagerly. He sighed, rubbing his face. “Look...” he searched for an excuse that wouldn’t make him sound too soft. “I’m just tired.”

“Oh. Sorry, yeah that makes sense,” she said sheepishly. “Um Yan Lin?” she turned, calling back to the old woman. Six pairs of eyes suddenly turned to him and Caleb bristled under the sudden spotlight. “Do you have a place Caleb could stay for a while?”

Yan Lin looked at him unsure, making Caleb fight to keep from squirming under her penetrating gaze. 

Hay Lin jumped up. “Ooo! Can he stay with us?”

“The guy doesn’t exactly have anywhere else to go,” reminded Irma, leaning back in her seat. 

“It would probably be best if he stayed here,” Taranee agreed, looking at Yan Lin imploringly. “That way the Guardians can keep an eye on him.”

“You mean WITCH’S,” Hay Lin corrected, gesturing to the acronym on her hand. 

Caleb’s irritation reared its ugly head. “I don’t need anyone to keep-“

“Very well,” Yan Lin sighed. “I believe there is a cot in the attic, we can move it to the basement. You may sleep there,” she told him. 

Caleb clenched his jaw but wisely decided not to argue. The old woman seemed to look through him and it made his stomach crawl. There was something unnatural about her. He didn’t like not knowing everything about the people he dealt with. It made it hard to figure out who to trust.

“Yay!” Hay Lin cheered, running up to him. “It’ll be like a week long slumber party. It’ll be so much fun,” she promised. 

Caleb looked at the bouncing girl in front of him and began to wish he had stayed in the Oubliette. “Yeah, fun.”


	3. The Key (and all the issues it unlocks) part 1

Serena let out a resigned sigh, her body sagging further into the couch cushions. She flipped open her phone again, no new messages. The guys had said they would be there ten minutes but that was twenty minutes ago. She groaned and let the phone fall onto the couch as Lizzie McGuire came back on. She watched bored out of her mind as Lizzie went on about a new color of nail polish she had just invented.

It felt like life had ground to a halt after they rescued Caleb and Will. It was crazy to think that less than a week ago, she and her friends had been normal girls. They went to the mall, had sleepovers, and did all the other mindless things kids her age were supposed to do. But in the span of three days, they had received magical superpowers, battled monsters, and rescued Will from an evil prince. It was as if her life had turned into one of VMJ’s Corilian Chronicles movies. They also managed to pick up a cute rebel leader along the way.

The only thing was that she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the rebel since they left him at the Lin’s. She briefly considered going to see Hay Lin to maybe catch him in passing and at least get to say hi. The problem was she was pretty sure he wouldn’t be very receptive to it. He hadn’t seemed particularly open to conversation when they brought him to Earth. In fact, he was downright rude to them for most of that trip. Then again, being kicked out of your home and onto another planet would probably make anyone a little crabby. Maybe he would be more approachable after he had a few days to adjust. However, in end it didn’t matter because she wasn’t exactly sure what she’d say after ‘hi’.

Serena had asked Hay Lin about Caleb exactly once, when they were all seated in the cafeteria the next day. She and Irma immediately broke out into devious grins and proceeded to heckle her for the rest of the day. Every little thing she said they would somehow relate back to Caleb. While they were in the locker room after gym, she had offhandedly mentioned that one of her braids had come undone. Irma elbowed Hay Lin and very loudly wondered if Caleb’s shaggy hair was long enough to braid. It was a pathetic comparison, and she was clearly reaching for it but there had been other girls in that locker room! They had all looked between the two of them before turning and giggling to themselves. It was so embarrassing! If that little tidbit made it to the Grumper sisters then by the time school let out everyone would know she had a crush on some guy named Caleb. It wouldn’t even matter that he didn’t go to their school in the first place.

Since then, she had resolutely kept her mouth shut on the subject and let the other girl’s ask the questions. Of course, they would still smirk at her briefly before Hay Lin answered them. According to her, Yan Lin had managed to convince her parents that Caleb was a foreign exchange student she had volunteered to host on the condition he would help out in the restaurant. It was slow going trying to get him used to modern technology and mannerisms without tipping off her parents. This was even harder due to the fact that even foreign people already had an inherent grasp on electricity and how it worked. Dinner table conversations were especially awkward since Hay Lin and Yan Lin had to monitor his responses or even answer for him whenever her parents asked a question. They had gotten away with it so far by claiming that English wasn’t his first language.

Sometimes Hay Lin would voluntarily give up information like earlier today at lunch. Serena had tried to appear more interested in her mash potatoes than the conversation as Hay Lin told them of her attempts to create a wardrobe for Caleb. They head been sneaking him some of her dad’s old clothes, but she was determined to get him out of “old people clothes,” as soon as possible. She cheerfully explained all the outfits she had designed for him to blend in with Earth teens. She was even exploring options in different styles although Serena didn’t think he would like goth very much.

Her phone suddenly vibrated, snapping her out of her thoughts as she snatched it up and flipped it open. Pressing buttons at the speed of light, a message popped up on her screen.

_From Luke: “We’re downstairs.”_  
_Sent: 3:22pm_

She typed out a quick “ _K_ ” in response before racing out of the living room, taking care to swerve around the glass coffee table. She slid down the hall’s hardwood floors before grabbing the corner of the kitchen wall to come to a stop. Bromwell merely raised an eyebrow from his position cutting vegetables for that night’s dinner.

“The guys are here. I’ll be back around 7pm,” she breathed.

“Very well, be safe Ms. Serena,” he told her as she grabbed a water bottle off the counter.

“I will!” she called over her shoulder as she ran back down the hallway to the elevator. Slinging her backpack over one shoulder, she kicked her skateboard into her hand and grabbed her helmet off the coat rack as the elevator doors slid open. She stuffed her bottle into a side pocket and when the doors finally opened again, she was greeted with the sight of Luke and Austin leaning against one of the columns in the lobby.

Austin looked up from his phone as the elevator dinged, slipping it into his pocket as she walked over to them. “You ready to go?” He asked, brushing his blond bangs back to put his helmet on.

“Yeah, what took you guys so long?” she replied, setting her skateboard down for a second to buckle her own helmet.

“There was a bunch of people on the sidewalk,” Luke answered, pushing off the column. “We couldn’t ride for most of the way here.”

“Oh. Does that mean we have to walk?” Serena asked dejectedly, kicking her board back into her hand.

“Nah, we can just go up 6th instead of 7th. There shouldn’t be a lot off foot traffic right now.”

“Sweet.”

Austin shot Luke a look over her head but before she could ask what he was grinning for he shouted, “last one there has to pay for snacks!” and bolted for the revolving doors with Luke right behind him.

“No fair!” Serena yelled, startling some people in the lobby before taking off after them. The vending machines at the skatepark were ridiculously priced. It cost like four dollars for a single mini bag of chips.

She made it to the door just a section behind the boys. She glared as Luke turned to blow raspberries at her. With her board under one arm, she pushed against the door, trying in vain to get it to spin faster. Austin grinned rakishly at her before turning as their side of the door met open air. Her side opened up just as they dropped their boards and pushed off. She quickly did the same, kicking furiously to gain speed.

The three of them raced down the sidewalk, weaving around pedestrians, benches, and folded shop signs. Luke had to swerve hard when a woman in a suit suddenly walked out of a store in front of him. She jumped back as he passed, her hand pressed over her earpiece protectively. Serena looked back as she skated by to see her shocked expression morph into disgust. She shook her fist at them, and Serena thought she caught something along the lines “disrespectful punks!” before her voice faded away. She laughed, turning back to her friends, and kicking off again to catch up.

At this point, Austin was about a half a block in front of her with Luke nestled squarely in between them. However, she was gaining ground and lucky for her, Austin was forced to pull up at a red crosswalk. She shifted her foot to the tail of her board as she and Luke rolled to a stop next to him.

“Look who finally decided to catch up,” Austin remarked, taking his eyes off the light for a split second to grin at her.

“Oh haha.” Serena pushed against his shoulder as he snickered. “I wouldn’t be so smug now that you don’t have a head start.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t need one,” he assured her, swiping his loose bangs across his forehead.

Serena rolled her eyes but didn’t grace him with a response, opting instead to catch her breath as the three of them watched the traffic light like a hawk. They each had one foot braced against the concrete, ready for the first flash of green. The cross traffic light went from green to yellow to red and finally the little red hand was replaced by a green walking figure. They surged forwards and were halfway across the street by the time pedestrians had stepped off the curb.

They started to lose steam about halfway up 6th street. It became less about the race and more about the tricks. They skated in a pack, taking turns to pull ahead and do a quick trick before falling back in line. Austin pushed into a crack in the sidewalk with the nose of his board before popping off into a Chinese Nollie. Luke pushed off twice and did a fakey front side 180, popping off the tail and pivoting on the nose to turn the board. After that Serena pushed forward, curling her front foot around the head of her board, and shoving it 180 degrees as she jumped, landing smoothly back on her board.

That when on for another block or two as they approached the turn onto State St. which would take them straight to the skate park. As they neared the corner, the sidewalks were blissfully empty except for some guy trudging along in front of them. The dude looked like he was trying to touch his ears with his shoulders, he was so hunched over. It would probably be best if they cut the tricks as they passed him. They wouldn’t want to give him another reason to be ticked off.

Austin and Luke must have come to the same conclusion because they rolled peacefully around him, giving him a wide berth. Once they passed however, they both made a break for the bench sitting on the corner of State St and 6th. Serena was amazed the thing was still standing. The backrest was partially bowed, and all the paint been scrapped of from past boarders grinding on it.

Sure enough, Austin briefly turned over his shoulder to shout back, “Hey guys, watch this!” before turning and popping onto the seat bench. He popped off again just as he reached the edge, grabbing his board and pulling his knees up to get as much air as possible. As he landed, Luke hit the corner and opted to pop off completely, clearing the bench seat.

Serena pushed off, gaining speed and ready to add her own grind marks to countless others when she caught a glimpse of the grumpy guy’s face as she passed. “Caleb?!”

Their eyes met for just a split second right before the front wheels of her board hit a particularly large crack in the concrete. The board jerked to a stop under her, sending her flying. She stumbled through a few steps, pain jolting up her legs but managed to successfully keep her feet. She frantically tried to will away the mortified blush that was no doubt blooming as she turned and picked up her traitorous skateboard. At least she didn’t fall flat on her face, all though this was only a minor step up.

Serena laughed awkwardly, brushing imaginary dirt off her pants before daring to raise her head. “Hey Caleb, what’s up?” she smiled weakly.

His brows were furrowed as he looked between her and the skateboard under her arm. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered quickly. “It happens all the time. Well not all the time - it actually isn’t supposed to happen at all. I’m usually-“

“What are you doing?” he asked, thankfully interrupting her pathetic stammering.

She was starting to wish she actually had fallen on her face. Maybe it would’ve knocked her out and then she wouldn’t be having this disaster of a conversation. “It’s called skateboarding,” she explained anyways. “It’s kind of a sport here on Earth. You ride the board and do tricks and stuff. They even have big competitions for it. Last summer SkaterX came to Heatherfield and they did a bunch of cool shows and...” she petered out when she noticed Caleb was looking at her with one brow raised, less than impressed with her rambling. “Uh,” her eyes flickered down to his blue t-shirt. “Hey, nice outfit! Did Hay Lin make those?”

Caleb looked down at his clothes, tugging at the hem of his oversized t shirt. Underneath was a white long sleeved tee paired with cargo shorts and a red baseball cap. He looked like any other teenage Earth boy she might see at school.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, glaring down at the shirt like it had personally offended him.

Serena raised an eyebrow, her smile faltering. “Okay...? I uh, haven’t seen you lately. Whatcha doing?” she asked desperately.

“The Lin’s finally decided I could be let out by myself, so I decided to get a lay of the city. It’s a lot bigger than ours,” he added as an afterthought, gazing up at the skyscrapers and office buildings that surrounded them.

“Oh, that’s cool!” She was willing to take anything she was given at this point. “I know some really nice spots. I can show you around if you-“

“Hey Babe, what’s the hold up?!”

Serena turned around to see Luke and Austin come around the corner and pull up on either side of her.

“You okay?” Luke asked, glancing briefly at Caleb.

“Yeah, I just tripped over my board,” she assured them. “Guys this is Caleb. He’s new in town and is staying with Hay Lin.”

“S’up dude,” Austin nodded.

Caleb looked him up and down before replying, “Hi.”

“So...” Luke drawled, turning back to Serena, and giving her a look like ‘what’s up with this guy?’ “Are you coming or what?”

“Yeah,” she replied, dropping her board on the ground before turning back to Caleb. “I’ll see you around. Enjoy your walk.” She briefly waved goodbye before following the boys as they sped off. After they had passed a few store fronts she risked a glance behind her only to find Caleb staring after them. She whipped her head back around, refusing the urge to see if he was still watching. What a nightmare. He probably thought she was a total weirdo now.

“Whys your face so red?” Austin asked as she drifted in beside him.

“My face isn’t red,” she protested, pressing her hands against her cheeks only to find that they were hot.

“Yeah, it is,” Luke insisted, peering at her from her other side. His eyes narrowed before a megawatt grin slowly stretched across his face. “Are you _blushing_?”

“No!” She kicked off, pushing ahead as the two of them burst out laughing. She frowned but it quickly melted as an idea came to mind. She smirked before pushing off several times in succession, picking up speed and gaining distance quickly. The boys cried out, but she ignored them as she sped away. It was her turn to laugh, there was no way she was paying for snacks.

* * *

Serena made sure to bend her knees as she came out of a grind on the park’s stair rail. Landing with minimal impact, she swiveled languidly over to her backpack leaning against the fence. Grass and weeds grew tenaciously in the gap between the concrete and the fence. She really should stop dropping her backpack there, a bug might crawl inside it.

Stepping off her board, she pulled her water bottle out of its side pocket and took a swig. She relaxed against the fence, shifting to keep the wire from digging too painfully into her back as she watched Austin rummage through his own pack. Pulling out a small bag of Chex Mix, he made sure to wave it at Luke who just glared at him as he rolled by.

After she had restarted the race, Luke had been forced to bail in order to avoid a couple of kids riding bikes who had come around a blind corner. His board had kept rolling without him and by the time he caught up to it, she and Austin had already crossed the street. He was forced to wait for the light to turn before he could catch up to them. Of course, they had stopped as soon as they had realized what happened and proceeded to taunt him from across the street. They waited for the yellow light before riding off. At this point all three of them were booking it but Luke was unable to make up the distance. About ten seconds after she and Austin had skated through the park’s gate, Luke rolled in, scowling at them as they burst out laughing.

“Come on guys,” he whined.

Austin wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye before straightening up. “You snooze, you lose man.” He did his best to stay calm but when his eyes flickered to Serena who was still cracking up, he descended into laughter again.

“You guys suck,” Luke told them before stomping over to the vending machine.

“You lost fair and square,” Serena managed to force out between giggles.

“Shut up!”

In the present, she and Austin made eye contact across the park and he winked at her. She chuckled under her breath, pulling out her phone to check the time. Flipping her screen up, she saw that she had a message from Will sent about twenty minutes ago.

_From Will: “Meet us at shell beach in 30mins for G. practice”_  
_Sent: 5:13pm_

“Oh shoot, hey guys!” she called out as she got to her feet, pulling her backpack over her shoulder.

“What?” Luke yelled back from the top of the ramp.

“The girls messaged me, it’s an emergency. I‘ve got to go.”

“What? But we just got here!” Austin protested as he stepped on his board and rolled over to her.

“Austin, we got here over an hour ago,” she reminded him, deadpanning.

“Whatever,” he rolled his eyes, pushing off to join Luke.

“Look, I’ll catch up with you guys tomorrow at lunch,” she promised before jumping on her board and heading for the gateway.

“Okay, see you tomorrow,” Luke waved before jumping down the ramp.

“Bye!”

Serena rolled down the sidewalk, banking around the occasional pedestrian as the sun began to set behind the skyscrapers. Luckily, Pier 53 which hosted the skatepark was fairly close to the West bridge. Shell Beach park was about a mile down the road on the other side. The roads were packed with people coming home for the evening. The sound of their impatient horns added to the city’s nighttime ambiance. It was funny, most newcomers complained about the traffic noise at night, but she swore she couldn’t fall asleep without at least one siren wailing in the background.

With traffic, it took a little over twenty minutes to make the trip and by the time she hit the parking lot the sun was low in the sky. Tucking her board under her arm she had to restrain herself from running down the boardwalk that would take her down to the beach. They were covered in sand and there was no point in wiping out twice today, despite the fact that there was no one around to see it. When she reached the end, she grimaced at the feeling of deep sand under her sneakers as she picked her way down the bank. Walking on soft sand in anything other than bare feet was just wrong.

As she approached the shore, she was surprised by the lack of people around. There were usually always some late swimmers and strollers that stayed for a while after the sun went down. Not that it was a bad thing. No one across the bay would be able to see them so they were safe unless anyone came over the hill on the boardwalk.

Scanning the beach her eyes landed on a rock outcrop that jutted into the water. Next to one of the rocks were five familiar bikes toppled over in the sand. Of course. She wouldn’t be surprised if this locale was Irma’s idea. Nestled amongst the boulders that littered the rock base was an old sea cave. It wasn’t very deep, maybe only the length of her apartment but it was still a popular spot. There were several burnt logs and stones from fire pits just inside. The boulders at the front of the cave meant you couldn’t really see inside unless you were right at the entrance. She had to give Irma credit, it was a perfect place to transform and practice their powers.

Dropping her board and bag in the sand by the bikes, she picked her way up to the mouth of the cave. Just a little ways in was Will and the rest of the girls.

“Hey guys,” she greeted as she climbed down the rocks, jumping to the sandy cave floor. “What’d I miss?”

“Where have you been?” Cornelia demanded, looking down her nose. “We’ve been waiting forever.”

“Shut up Cornelia, I was skating, so I didn’t have my phone on me,” she explained, narrowing her eyes. Less than ten seconds in Cornelia’s presence and she’s already fed up with her attitude. Must be a new record. The other blonde huffed and rolled her eyes. Serena took a deep breath before turning to the others. “So are we practicing in here or out on the beach because I didn’t see anyone else when I got here.”

“I-I wish I was at home,” Taranee whimpered, clutching her shoulders as she shivered. “It would be warmer and-“ she shrieked, ducking down and nearly knocking into Serena as a bat flew over her head and out of the cave. “...less bat infested,” she finished in a shaky voice.

“I’m starving,” Hay Lin announced, completely unbothered by the bat’s presence. “I wish I had a big sugary donut.”

“I think I’ve got a granola bar in my backpack,” Serena offered, gesturing outside the cave.

Hay Lin clapped her hands delightedly. “Really?”

“Bats are more afraid of us than we are of them, right?” Taranee interjected. She was shaking so hard that it was getting hard to tell if it was from the cold or fear.

“In your case Taranee, I think it may be a tossup,” Cornelia smirked.

Serena shot her a dirty look before placing her hands on Taranee’s shoulders, gently guiding her away from the cave mouth. “If you stand against the wall, the bats will ignore you and fly right passed,” she reassured.

Will sighed. It was getting late and she promised her mom she’d be back by dinner. “Enough about bats and donuts it’s time for magic practice. Are you guys ready to jam?” she cheered.

Hay Lin’s eyes widened as Will inadvertently pinned down her craving. “Jam donuts!”

Will shushed her and pull the Heart out from under her puffy orange vest. “Guardians unite!” she commanded.

The Heart flashed before floating out of her hand and hovering above their heads. Six balls of pink light emerged from the crystal, flying through the air, and encircling the girls. Serena’s vision whited out as the warm light enveloped her, her body curling into a ball. A cool wave flooded through her as she received her powers. When the light faded, her feet gently touched back down on the sand, now clad in the purple boots of her Guardian form.

Hay Lin whooped in excitement and wasted no time in zooming out of the cave to take to the sky. The others followed her to watch as she did a series of flips, steadily climbing in the air. Just when Serena was starting to get concerned that someone might see her, she suddenly dove straight down at breakneck speed. She pulled up at the last second, laughing ecstatically as she skimmed across the surface, leaving a wake behind her.

“Show off,” Irma huffed as Hay Lin flew passed them.

That was not how she would have described it, Serena thought as she let out a sigh of relief. She understood that Hay Lin being the Guardian of Air meant she was a natural flier. But that doesn’t mean she should attempt death defying stunts just because she can. This was only the third time they had transformed after all.

“You want to go next?” Irma asked Serena, lounging on one of the boulders.

“Nah, I’ll go once my heart starts beating at a normal rhythm,” she replied, making Irma laugh.

“I guess that means it’s your turn Taranee.”

Taranee’s head whipped around as her eyes widened incredulously. “What? No. Why do I have to...” she faded out at the look on Irma’s face and begrudgingly took a step forward. She cupped her shaking hands and a red fireball flickered into being above them. The fireball grew and Taranee tried to juggle it between her hands, but it got too big too fast and she was forced to drop it. It hit the sand and extinguished into a cloud of smoke making her cough before waving it away.

Serena saw Will and Cornelia look at each other concerned. Despite their success during the rescue mission, it seemed like their grasp on their powers hadn’t improved. They would have to get better fast if they were going to make battling monsters a regular thing, although she severely hoped not. She sometimes had to make a conscious effort to _not_ think about how dangerous the whole thing was else, or she’d get overwhelmed. The first two nights after the rescue she woken herself up crying from nightmares from the memory of it all. They had been so helpless and vulnerable; it was scary to think how easily they could have been killed.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, although the exhale came out shaky, and faced down the beach. “Hey guys watch this,” she requested.

Flapping her wings, she rose a few feet off the air to get some space before extending her arms to the side. Remembering the move she used to fight off the Lurdens in the dungeon, she summoned the shadows. They billowed from her palms, flying around her, and connecting in a ring. She tried to transfer its control to one hand, but it felt her control start to waver. The ring quivered as random plumes began to burst out and whisp away. Panicking, Serena broke the ring and sent whatever darkness remained hurtling into the beach away from them. Like a thick black spear, it gouged a deep line into the sand before dissipating completely.

The girls gawked at the damage before turning to her in shock.

“Uh... tada?” She said hesitantly with a shrug. At least it didn’t explode on her or something. Not to mention it could potentially be combat related. She wondered if she could do the same to a group of Lurdens. Or maybe not exactly the same, she didn’t want to accidentally cut them in half, that would be gross.

“Oh yeah? Well top this,” boasted Irma as she got to her feet, brandishing her arms towards the ocean. “I give you, Cornelia!” Waving her arms, a mass of sea water rose from the surface, coagulating into a ball before forming the shape of Cornelia’s head. The rippling of the water created her features which happen to include a very misshapen nose.

“Thanks for the nose,” Cornelia sneered, crossing her arms.

“Cornelia with a broken nose,” Irma amended as the other girls clapped, ignoring Cornelia’s pouting. Serena was actually impressed, that much water had to have been heavy. At least one of them was getting a handle on things.

Unfortunately, she spoke too soon because as Irma dropped her hands to bow for her audience, her control over the water was lost. The mass of water burst from its shape and rained down on them... along with all of the sea life that had been occupying it.

“Move!” Serena shouted as she and the other girls took off running. She darted up the beach as fish, eels and crabs crashed into the sand around her. Suddenly a particularly large fish slammed into her back, landing right on her wings. She stumbled, knees hitting the sand as searing pain flooded her shoulders and chest. She couldn’t breathe, it felt like her lungs were locked in a vice. She knelt there for a moment, trying to make the world spin back into focus before getting to her feet wobbly. She turned and made a beeline for the cave but opted to skid for a stop as soon as she hit the line of boulders. Forgoing the cave, she hunkered down at the base of one, curling into a ball and covering her head with her arms. Her wings ached from where they were pressed into the rock but at least they’re were protected from further onslaught.

When the sound of falling objects stopped, Serena cracked open her eyes and lifted her head, swiping a wet strand of hair out of her eyes. The beach was covered in flailing sea life. Fish bounced about on the sand, making a desperate attempt to return to water. Lowering her arms, she picked herself up and looked around for the others. She could see Irma still on the ledge she had occupied earlier. Will and Hay Lin were standing at the base of the dunes near the boardwalk breathing heavy while Cornelia emerged from behind some rocks beside her.

Taranee was running wildly around the beach, clutching her face. Was she hurt? Serena wondered, taking a step forward. She was just about to call for the other girls when Taranee turned and started heading in her direction. As she got closer, Serena noticed red covering the left side of her face. For a split second she was afraid that Taranee was bleeding but as she squinted, she realized that a starfish was simply covering her glasses.

Serena let out a wheezy chuckle despite herself and walked out from behind the bolder to stop Taranee before she ran into something. She reached out and grabbed her as she tried to run past. Yanking her back, she smacked her hands away from her face so she could pull off her glasses.

Taranee blinked, blinking rapidly as her world went fuzzy. “What are you doing?”

“You’ve got a starfish on your face,” Serena informed her as she carefully peeled back the legs of the starfish until it detached. Once it was free of the glass she turned and flung it back into the ocean. After handing Taranee her glasses she glanced back at Irma who had climbed down the rock.

“Hey, can you pull them back in or something?” She asked, gesturing to the fish gaping desperately at her feet. “They’re all going to die.” She felt bad for them, suffocating had to be a horrible way to go.

“Oh great, because round one wasn’t good enough,” Cornelia griped, pulling seaweed from her hair.

Irma ignored her but looked nervously at the water. After a few seconds she nodded her head and reached out to the minute waves that washed along the shore. She latched onto them and drawing her hand back, tried to coax it forward. At first nothing happened but slowly the waves began to travel up the beach. Serena pulled Taranee into the air with her as the water passed under their feet. Irma manipulated the water to cover half the beach before allowing it to build depth. As the water got deeper Serena could see fish start to wriggle and turn right side up in the water.

After a few moments, Irma began to let the water retreat back into the sea. She made sure to go slow enough so the creatures wouldn’t become stranded again. When the water finally reached the shoreline, she let it collapse, bracing herself on her knees as she took a few deep breaths. Looking out across the beach, the sand was clear apart from the occasional stray crab.

“Nice job Irma,” Hay Lin praised, giving her a thumbs up as she and Will flew over to meet them.

“Thanks,” Irma panted, her chest still heaving from the exertion. “I’m exhausted.”

“Yeah,” said Will looking at the darkening sky. The sun had completely slipped below the horizon by now, the last rays of daylight creating a belt of orange and pink. “I would say that’s enough for one day.”

“You think?” asked Cornelia.

The girls laughed as Will summoned forth the heart and released their transformations. Thankfully, returning them to their dry clothes.

Serena rolled her shoulder as they walked back to the cave to retrieve their gear, noticing the distant ache in her shoulder blades from her wings. Hopefully, that would go away soon. Reaching into her backpack pocket, she pulled out the granola bar and tossed it to a very grateful Hay Lin. Tucking her board under her arm, she chatted amiably with the girls as they walked their bikes down the boardwalk to the parking lot. As they mounted their bikes, Serena sat her skateboard down beside Irma’s. There was no way she would be able to keep up with them on their bikes, so she had to resort to being towed.

Will released their transformation which thankfully returned them to their dry, normal clothes. Serena tossed a very grateful Hay Lin her granola bar as the other girls grabbed their bikes. They walked them down the boardwalk, chatting amiably before they hit the parking lot. As the other girls mounted their bikes, Serena set up her skateboard beside Hay Lin’s. There was no way she’d be able to keep up with them, so she had to resort to being towed.

“We really need to keep a rope for when this happened,” She mused as she grabbed ahold of the back rail of Irma’s bike. It was an awkward position, she had to partially bend over the back wheel and would have to keep an eye on her board the whole time to keep them from colliding.

Traffic had lightened up as they made their way back to the Silver Dragon and twenty minutes of nerve wracking riding later, they pulled up to the Silver Dragon’s service entrance. The girls ditched their bikes against the brick wall by the dumpster and went around to the front door. It was after restaurant hours, today was a half day for the staff, but Hay Lin had a key.

“Well, that went... well ...don’t you think,” Will asked hesitantly as they approached the door.

“I don’t know what your definition of ‘well’ is, but I’d say that anything’s better that a rouge Cedric,” Serena spoke up.

Irma shuddered. “If I never see that corrupt slinky again it’ll be too soon,” she agreed.

“You’re telling me,” Will mumbled and Serena shot her a sympathetic smile. The day after they came back from Meridian, Will had hesitated when they reached her stop as they were walking back from school. They had all seen the way she gripped her backpack like a shield when faced with the alley she used as a shortcut. Taranee immediately stepped up and linked her arm with Will’s, breaking her out of her dark thoughts. She promised Will that she would escort her to make sure nothing happened. Hay Lin had also had the brilliant idea of the other girls being on call with them as they walked. That way if anything did decide to jump out and make a second kidnapping attempt, the rest of them would hear it and come running. Will thanked them profusely and they had stuck to that routine for the last few days.

Suddenly Taranee’s eyes got wide and she started squirming violently as she tried to pull at her shirt and dress. “I feel something down the back of my neck!” she squeaked.

“Hold still,” Serena said as she came up behind Taranee, holding her shoulders to keep her still. Taranee’s skin was warm against her hand as she reached down the back of her shirt but then she ran into something wet and cold. It was probably just a piece of seaweed that had fallen into her clothes. She had been out in the middle of the beach unprotected when everything was raining on them. As she pulled it out, Serena wrenched back when instead of a strand of seaweed, a live eel came out of Taranee’s shirt. It was slimy and wriggling to the point that it almost came up and bit her hand. Barely suppressing a squeal of disgust, she tossed into down the street just as Taranee turned around.

“What was it?” she asked, looking around for the object only to find nothing in Serena’s hand.

From behind Taranee, Serena saw Will shake her head vigorously. “Uh... nothing,” she replied quickly, wiping her hands on her pant leg, trying not to grimace at the texture of the slime. “Just a piece of seaweed.”

“But why was it moving?” Taranee pushed.

“Uh...” She wasn’t sure how to explain that one. Turning to the other girls for help, she made eye contact with Hay Lin and widened her eyes pleadingly.

“Oh,” Hay Lin gasped dramatically, turning to the door, and frantically pressing her key into the lock. “You guys have got to come in and see Caleb’s new outfit,” she insisted and ushered them all inside. As Serena passed, she met her mouthed “thank you” with a wink.

“I made this really cute retro aviator 50’s thing,” Hay Lin continued as they went to go through the kitchen to her foyer. “He didn’t like it but if your five hold him down-“

“Girls? Girls!” Yan Lin burst through the kitchen doors right as they were about to walk in. “I have some terrible news,” she said gravely.

Irma looked confused for a moment before snapping her finger. “That eel down Taranee’s neck was poisonous?” she guessed.

“Irma!” Serena hissed, making a cutthroat motion rapidly as her eyes darted to Taranee.

“Oops.” Irma smacked a hand across her mouth.

Taranee turned slowly to face Serena. “What eel?” she asked in a small voice.

“No eel! There’s no eel,” Serena assured, waving away the notion while looking pointedly at Irma.

“Caleb is gone,” Yan Lin continued. “I’m afraid he may have returned to Meridian.”

“What?!” Serena exclaimed along with the other girls as they looked at each other in shock. “That’s impossible!” she insisted. “I saw him just a few hours ago. He said he was scoping out the city!”

“You saw Caleb?” Irma smirked while Hay Lin raised an eyebrow curiously. “How did that go?”

“Fine, “ Serena said quickly, glancing at the floor. She saw Irma and Hay Lin grin from the corner of her eye but thankfully Taranee spoke up before she either of them could press her for details.

“Why would he go back to Meridian?” she wondered. “I thought Cedric and his guards were still looking for him.”

“They most likely are,” said Yan Lin. “Phobos is not one to let prisoners get away. He will hunt him down and this time he will not hesitate to execute him.”

“Did he leave anything behind?” Will asked. “Maps, or battle plans or something?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted.

Serena and the girls glanced at each other before making a dash for the kitchen and bursting through the doors leading to the Lin’s foyer. Will went straight for the basement door, flicking the light on as the rest of them followed her down the stairs. Stacks of boxes and unused furniture lined the walls. Some of the boxes had come open, revealing old pictures, kitchen equipment and traditional Chinese decorations inside. Under a window well facing the sidewalk outside sat the cot Caleb had been sleeping on. Oddly enough, nuts, bolts and other old junk littered the floor around it. Serena couldn’t see anything that looked like it belonged to Caleb but there was a foul stench in the air. Her face pinched as she switched to breathing through her mouth and pulled her shirt over her nose.

“What that smell?” Will gagged, grimacing as she waved to try and clear the air in front of her.

“The last time I smelled that my French fries went missing,” Irma pointed out.

They followed the rotten garbage like stench and came upon a familiar tiny set of clothes resting on a box near Caleb’s cot. A swarm of flies buzzed above them. There was no guessing who they belonged to.

“Blunk,” the girls groaned.

“That is disgusting,” Serena remarked, pinching her nose through her shirt.

“Why would he come here?” Hay Lin asked. “Caleb doesn’t even like him.”

“Hey, nobody likes him, but he’s got to go somewhere,” Taranee reasoned.

“To be honest, I don’t think Caleb really likes anybody,” Serena sighed, shaking her head sadly.

“Aww don’t worry babe, he’ll come around,” Irma cooed, nudging her side. “Besides, I think I know where to find the little troll. We’ll need to be magic pixies again, sorry I meant Guardians,” she corrected sarcastically.

Will nodded and pulled out the Heart, it’s rippling light bathing the room in a pink glow.

Taranee’s shoulder slumped at the sight. “I was really hoping we wouldn’t have to do this again tonight,” she admitted.

“Forget about it,” Irma waved her off. “Where we’re going there are no bats, no eels, no crabs,” she promised as the light from the Heart grew brighter.

“Somehow I’ve got a feeling this is another one of your ‘secret spots’,” Serena whispered to Irma who just chuckled in response as the light engulfed them.

After they transformed, they followed Irma out of the restaurant to the back alley. She peaked her head out of the service door, and seeing that the coast was clear, ushered them through. They flew for the skyline as quick as possible, hugging the alley walls for cover. Night had fallen while they were in the restaurant which meant the only source of light came from windows and streetlamps below. It was dark enough that anyone looking up would have a hard time identifying them as humans let alone making out their faces.

Irma led them to an alleyway in the shopping district downtown. “Bingo!” she exclaimed as they dived down, landing next to a row of dumpsters behind a fast food joint. Several rats scurried away as they touched down, startling Taranee who reflexively took a step back. Her eyebrows furrowed when she felt something under her shoe and lifted it to reveal an old wad of gum stretching between her sole and the pavement. She groaned in disgust, frantically rubbing her shoe on the ground to scrape off the gum. “Exactly what do you guys have against dry, well-lit places?”

Serena grimaced, checking the ground around her before lifting her own foot just in case. “Treasure!” cheered a raspy voice, interrupting her inspection. Serena’s head shot up, stumbling slightly as she put her foot down. She had definitely heard someone speak but there was no one there besides the girls. She jumped when loud bang came from one of the dumpsters and the pile of garbage inside shifted, sending old cans tumbling onto the ground.

“Light please,” Will requested.

Taranee flicked her wrist and a fireball materialized in her hand. With a wave, she directed it to hover gently above the dumpster. It’s flickering orange light illuminated the alley just as Blunk surfaced from the pile of garbage. His eyes widened when he saw the six of them surrounding him. “Guardians,” he gulped.

Hay Lin suddenly gasped. “What is he wearing?” she growled.

Serena glanced at her confused before taking a closer look at Blunk. He was wearing a blue t shirt and red baseball cap. At first, she though he had just dug them out of another dumpster but now that she thought about it, they did look kind of familiar. Searching her memory, the embarrassing incident from earlier flashed across her mind. “Are those Caleb’s clothes?” she asked incredulously.

“Ooo sweet, Blunk styling,” he replied, grinning smugly as he spun the cap around on his head. He dug through the trash and pulled out a cracked makeup mirror, admiring his scattered reflection.

Serena sighed, rubbing the bride of her nose at his antics. “Focus Blunk,” she snapped her fingers in front of his face, breaking his adoring gaze with the mirror. “Caleb is missing, we think he’s gone back to Meridian. We need to find a portal.”

“No, no portal secret!” he protested, shaking his head rapidly as the girls closed in around him.

Will crossed her arms, looking at him skeptically. “You showed Caleb where it was,” she pointed out.

“He pay with tight threads,” Blunk countered, tugging at the sleeves of the shirt Caleb gave him.

He started to shift his way towards the wall of the dumpster, but Irma slammed a foot down on the rim before he could make any escape attempt. “How do you know where the portals are anyway?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow as if daring him to try her.

He chuckled nervously before resuming his place in the center of the pile. “Blunk always know, Blunk a Passling. Passlings can smell.” He explained, pointing to his hoglike nose.

“Boy is that an understatement,” Taranee groaned under her breath, swiping her hand in front of her nose.

Serena didn’t blame her. Despite his change of clothes, Blunk still smelled like a landfill covered in sewage. Between him and the surrounding garbage it was getting hard to breathe. She tried to keep her mind off the smell to avoid getting sick. Her stomach was already feeling queasy.

“Smelling portals good for smuggling,” Blunk continued, looking between the girls suspiciously. “If Blunk show, girls close!”

“We have to close it or evil oozes through,” Will snapped, running out of patience.

“It’s like putting the cap on the toothpaste,” Irma elaborated. Her face went blank as she realized what she said and smacked herself in the forehead. “What am I saying, you’ve obviously never used toothpaste in your life.”

Serena took a deep breath. This was getting them nowhere and the more time they wasted the more likely Caleb could be in trouble. If Blunk accepted payment from Caleb in return for to portal’s location, then maybe he would do the same for them. The only trouble was figuring out what the little toad wanted in exchange. “Look,” she sighed. “What do you-“

“I can’t believe you’re wearing those clothes!” Hay Lin burst out, her nostrils flaring as if to blow steam as she hovered over the dumpster.

Serena blinked. That wasn’t exactly where she had been going with that.

In spite of the obvious rage radiating off of Hay Lin, Blunk grinned and posed proudly in his new clothes. “Blunk got it going on,” he bragged.

“Oh no, Blunk got it coming off. I made those clothes for Caleb,” Hay Lin seethed, getting more up in his face with every word. “When I find him, he’s going to wish Phobos found him first.”

Blunk yelped, scrambling to get away from the furious Air Guardian. He dived back under the trash and reappeared through a rusted out hole in the bottom corner of the dumpster. He took off running down the alley and darted around the corner.

“After him!” Will shouted.

The six of them raced after him by air, gaining height as they whipped around the corner. From above, the tracked him down the block as he jumped over trash cans and ducked under flower boxes. He glanced behind him once and shrieked when he saw that they were still chasing him. He ran straight for a streetlamp, grabbing the pole and slinging himself around the corner. The girls started to gain on him just as he reached an open manhole cover and dove in. The girls pulled up short as blue lightning erupted from the manhole.

Well at least they knew where the portal was now, Serena thought as one by one the girls dived in after him. She braced herself for the all-encompassing squeeze but thankfully it didn’t seem to last as long as it had the first time. Emerging on the other side in a shower of sparks, she settled down on the edge of a rocky cliff next to Will. They had landed on the mountain range that surrounded the capital city of Meridian. On the other side of the valley was the castle, sticking out like a stain on the landscape.

“Ugh, why is it always dark here?” Cornelia complained, frowning at the impenetrable black clouds that covered the sky.

“Different time zone,” Irma jumped in. “Evil is five hours ahead of us.”

“Wait, really?” Serena turned to her surprised. How did she know that? Did Caleb tell her?

Irma winked at her like she knew exactly where her thoughts had gone. Serena whipped around to stare down the cliff as Irma snickered to herself. Why did she always have to do this to her?

“The little green rat is going that way,” Hay Lin growled, pointing to Blunk’s retreating figure as he ran down the mountainside. “Hey! That’s 400 thread silk quit dragging the sleeves!” She jumped off the cliff, diving headfirst down the slope after him. Thanks to her wings, she made up the distance within seconds, shooting passed him and coming to a stop directly in front of the passing. Putting her hands on her hips, she glared daggers at Blunk who skid to a stop just before he ran into her legs. Realizing he was caught; he had the decency to look thoroughly chastised as the other girls landed beside Hay Lin.

“I swear if those clothes have so much as one rip in them, I will boot you back to Phobos’s dungeon myself,” Hay Lin threatened. Blunk whimpered, curling into himself to make him seem smaller.

It was almost funny. But then again Serena knew that if she dared crack a smile, Hay Lin’s anger would turn on her as well. Plus, she knew how much effort went into making those clothes. She had a few Hay Lin originals in her closet from various costume parties throughout the years. She could understand that Hay Lin would be upset that all her hard work wasn’t being appreciated.

“Speaking of clothes,” Will continued, looking at the city below. “The wings are kind of obvious, don’t you think?”

“If we’re going to be running around the set of Lord of the Rings, we’re going to need some sort of disguise,” Irma agreed.

“Oh yeah, and where are you planning to get one?” Cornelia inquired. “This place doesn’t exactly have a mall.”

“Well not necessarily,” Taranee spoke up, pushing her glasses higher on her nose. “Cities are based around the principle that crops and other food are being brought in to be sold to the people. Haven’t you guys ever heard of a farmer’s market?”

“Which means there are bound to be plenty of shops or markets around here,” Irma finished. “Besides,” she shrugged, “we could always steal stuff from a clothesline if we have to.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure that only happens in movies,” Serena pointed out.

“If you haven’t noticed babe, our lives are a movie,” Irma rebutted.

“Let’s just go look,” Will sighed, running a hand over her face. “Blunk do you know of any place that might sell clothes?”

“Oh yes!” Blunk perked up, dashing away from Hay Lin to beam up at Will. “Blunk know lots of places, Blunk popular businessman.”

“Sure,” Will drawled.

They followed Blunk down the rest of the mountain. Near the base, a dirt road snaked up a pass, turned into cobblestone as they entered the city. Tall, whitewashed buildings surrounded them on either side. The walls were crisscrossed with dark wooden beams that looked like something out of a history book. Most houses had several floors and a store sign hanging above the front door. And yet, they all appeared to be closed. Some of the windows on the lower floors were even boarded up. It was a big difference compared to Heatherfield where even in the middle of the night there were neon lights and billboards and tons of people still out and about. It was so quiet here, like the whole city was holding its breath.

It didn’t help the fact that enormous thorn covered vines stretched across each of the buildings. They looked exactly like the ones from the swamp and like those, they all lead directly to the castle. It reminded Serena of Sleeping Beauty and the thick forest of thorns that surrounded the princess’s castle.

To make things worse, it started to rain. Lightning arched across the sky, and from atop a nearby chimney, a blood chilling screech echoed through the night. The girls stopped in their tracks as a large creature lifted its head, its long beak lined with jagged teeth. Stretching out its massive wings, the membranes caught the wind and it lifted into the sky. It shrieked in outrage at being disturbed before gliding away and disappearing behind a pointed rooftop. It took a moment for Serena’s brain to catch up with what she was seeing. After a few seconds she realized the creature looked like one of those flying dinosaurs from science class.

“This place is not right,” Irma mumbled beside her. Serena nodded wordlessly.

After a few more minutes of walking through empty streets, muddy water splashing up on their tights, they turned a corner onto a town square and Blunk lit up. “Yes! Still open!” he cried, dashing over to a corner shop. The girls hurried after him, not wanting to be caught in the open by themselves. Soaking wet, they huddled together under the shops hinged wooden awning.

Clutching her shoulders desperately to control her shivering, Serena peered into the shop. It seemed to consist of just one room from what she could tell. Lining the walls were wooden shelves filled with ceramic pots, jars, and scrolls. Bundles of dried plants hung from the rafters and wooden barrels sat stacked in a corner. Next to one of the shelves were several dark brown capes hanging on pegs.

Suddenly a tall, heavily built man stood up from underneath the counter. Dusting off his hands, he narrowed his eyes when he noticed the girls. “What do you want,” he asked gruffly, crossing his arms. He towered over them even with the extra height from their Guardian forms. His arms were thicker than Serena’s head and his bushy beard did nothing to disguise his scowl.

No one answered him immediately. Serena’s eyes darted to the other girls. She didn’t want to say anything, he looked like he could snap her spine in half with one hand! Will was the leader so she should be the one to talk to him. She reached around Irma and pinched Will’s side.

“Ugh!” Will jumped. “Um... can we have those capes over there?” she asked in a small voice, pointing hesitantly to them. “Please?”

The shopkeeper turned to look where she was pointing before scanning the six of them suspiciously. “35 pence,” he demanded shortly.

“Uh...” Will looked at the other girls for help. Serena shrugged, it’s not like they had a clue how the money system here worked. Even if they did, they didn’t have any money or any way to carry it. The Guardian outfits didn’t come with pockets. A grievous error on the Heart’s part if you asked her.

Will gulped and turned back to the shopkeeper. “We don’t exactly have any money,” she admitted sheepishly.

“No money, no cloaks,” he snapped.

Blunk pushed his way to the front, pulling a used and battered tea bag from his pocket and slapping it on the counter. “Candy on string. Trade?” He offered.

The clerk regarded the crumpled tea bag and looked back at the passing, not even dignifying him with a response.

Not one to be put off, Blunk shrugged and popped the tea bag in his mouth, chewing contently while the girls grimaced behind him. He ate the thing paper, string, and all!

“No trades,” the clerk said resolutely. “I already got stuck today with a cart load of wet firewood I can’t burn.” He gestured to a stack of wood leaning against the store front next to the girls.

Will drifted over to the pile. She contemplated it for a moment before suddenly snapped her fingers. “Will you give us the cloaks if we dry it out for you?” she asked, giving Taranee a knowing look.

“What are you the sun?” The clerk snorted dismissively.

Will turned to Taranee who winked in response and extended her hand over the firewood. She summoned an intense heat but kept it concentrated to just the air around her hand, creating a dim orange glow. The heat sunk into the wood, instantly evaporating the water, and dispelling it in a burst of steam.

The shopkeeper gaped as he tentatively lifted a log, staring at the dried wood in awe. “I-I also have some wet laundry,” he said quickly, his tone suddenly much more friendly.

Serena frowned at his sudden change in attitude. She knew where this was going. She’d played this game one to many times in class whenever she brought out a pack of gum. Suddenly every kid around her was making offers for trades, various amounts of money or half-baked promises for ‘just one piece’. The problem was that the shopkeeper had the metaphorical pack of gum in this situation. If they let him, he could run them into the dirt with chores before he gave up the cloaks.

“Hold on a second,” she spoke up, pulling her shoulders back as she met the clerk’s eyes head on. He raised an eyebrow at her little display and she quickly deflated an inch. “W-we dried the wood, so can we have the cloaks now please?” she asked sweetly.

The clerk bristled. “Why I- I never said that I would give you the cloaks in return for drying the wood,” he replied, crossing his arms smugly.

Serena’s polite smile dropped. This is exactly what she suspected would happen. However, there was no way she was going to let him wring them for all they’re worth. “Fine,” she growled. “Name your price. You’ve got the Guardians of the Veil at your service for one, and I mean _ONE_ task only.”

The clerk startled, backing further into his shop as he looked them over. His eyes bulged out of his head as he took in the iridescent wings on their backs. “You- you’re the Guardians of the Veil?” he asked softly.

Serena glanced apprehensively at Will. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best idea. She didn’t think to consider whether or not he was loyal to Phobos. Even if he wasn’t there was still the chance that he could still raise the alarm out of fear for himself. They had a lot to lose but also a lot to gain. They needed to find Caleb no matter what, he was their only tie to the rebellion and without him they wouldn’t be able to do their jobs as Guardians.

Will seemed to be thinking along the same lines because she nodded reassuringly at Serena before placing her hand over her chest. Drawing it away, the Heart of Kandrakar materialized against her palm, casting its pink light on the clerk’s astonished face.

“I can’t believe it.” He checked both ways down the street before leaning over the counter. “Are you with the rebellion?” he whispered.

“Yes!” Serena nodded quickly. “One of our fellow rebels is missing, we’re trying to find him before he gets captured.”

“Then you’ll need these.” The clerk backed away and lifted the cloaks off their pegs before handing them to Will. “I stand with the rebellion, Phobos has ruled in tyranny for too long. I hope you find your friend,” he said, smiling for the first time.

“Thank you. We will find some way to repay you,” she promised as she passed the cloaks around.

“Taking down Phobos is payment enough,” the clerk assured Will. “Good luck.”

The girls thanked him again profusely before drawing the hoods over their heads and hurrying down the street. Serena wrapped the cloak around her shoulders, making sure to fold her wings down against her back. The fabric was thick and soft to the touch. It felt more like a blanket than a piece of clothing. Immediately, warmth bloomed under the cloak, releasing the numbness that had started to settle against her skin. Despite being made of untreated fabric, the cloaks actually kept most of the rain off. Serena pulled the edges of her cloak across her stomach, wrapping it around her. She always hated the fact that umbrellas and raincoats did little to keep her legs dry. She hated getting wet, the water droplets always itched as they slid down her skin.

“So, what now?” Cornelia asked as they took shelter under a bridge connecting the upper floors of two buildings across each other.

“We find Caleb, we bring him back to Earth and we lock him in the basement until he explains why he ditched his clothes,” Hay Lin demanded, pounding her fist into her palm.

Irma raised an eyebrow, slowly turning to make eye contact with Serena who shook her head minutely. Hay Lin shifted and Serena froze, thinking she had seen their silent exchange. Thankfully, she seemed preoccupied with glaring daggers into the air in front of her. They weren’t kidding when they said a good man going to war was scary. Hay Lin rarely ever got truly angry so seeing her so worked up was always a shock to the system.

“Or...” Will drawled, “we could just ask him why he left in the first place. He might need our help; he could be in trouble.”

“Oh, he will be,” Hay Lin swore, grinding her fist.

“Um, newsflash!” Cornelia interjected. “We’re in a strange, magical city overrun by monsters. How are we supposed to find Caleb if we can’t even walk around without fear of being arrested?”

“Ask someone for directions to Rebel HQ?” Irma suggested with a shrug.

“Okay, but who are you planning on asking?” Serena retorted, gesturing to the empty street.

“Blunk do you know where the rebel’s hideout is?” Will asked the soaked Passling at their feet. I bet he wished he were wearing his old clothes now, Serena thought, her lips twitching. At least his smelly orange tunic had a hood.

“Blunk not know. Hideout secret, big secret,” he told them. “Rebels not know either.”

“The rebels don’t know where their own hideout is?” Cornelia arched her brow skeptically.

“Not new ones,” he explained. “Keep away spies.”

“Great,” Serena sighed. “So even if we somehow managed to find a rebel, there’s no guarantee they’d be able to help us.” As much as it inconvenienced them, she had to admit the rebel’s philosophy made sense. They couldn’t just take anyone into their ranks or Phobos would know where their hideout was within a week. It was smart but it also put her and the others at a disadvantage.

“We can’t ask just anyone in their street,” Will concluded, “they could be in league with prince power mad.”

Taranee rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “The shop keeper was sympathetic, he might know something,” she suggested.

“Good idea Taranee.” Will stuck a handout to test the rain, before stepping out from under the bridge. “Let’s hurry up and get back to the shop before someone-“

“What are you doing over there?!”

Serena and the others whipped around to see a rough looking humanoid with grey skin stomping towards them. He wore a metal helmet and crisscrossing leather straps across his chest. A misshapen sword riddled with holes was clenched tightly in his fist. His belt buckle boasted a familiar crest of two oppositely orientated triangles separated by a gold circle. Not good.

“Run!” Will shouted. The six off them took off down the street, ignoring the guard’s call for them to stop. The cloaks weighed them down and kept them from simply flying away but they couldn’t just ditch them. The guard would raise an alarm that the Guardians were here, alerting every one of Phobos’ cronies and making their job that much harder.

Serena risked a quick glance back at the guard. They had managed to gain some distance thanks to the element of surprise, but he was still on their tail. With those long legs he would bridge the gap and be right on top of them in no time.

She was starting to run out of breath so she scanned the rows of buildings for anything they could use to slow him down. They were coming up on several carts parked next to what looked like a stable, but they would take too long to set up. On the other side of the street was a stack of barrels but she had no idea how heavy they would be. Besides, it would only slow him down, they needed to lose him entirely.

Around an upcoming bend, her eyes caught a break in the long line of uninterrupted buildings. From what she could see, the road branching off looked a lot smaller than the street they were currently on. An alley way, perfect. She glanced back at the guard one more time before calling to the other girls. “This way!” She felt the others put on a burst of speed as they raced around the bend, heading straight for the mouth of the alley. As they whipped around its corner, she really hoped it wasn’t a dead end or they were screwed.


	4. The Key (and all the issues it unlocks) part 2

She made out a brown and purple figure just before she ran into them headfirst. As she made impact with the unfortunate person, she felt one of the girls run into her back and they all fell to the ground in a mess of tangled limbs. She landed on the knees of the person in front of her, making her stomach lurch. She gasped for breath as she tried to push down the rising nausea. Someone slid off her back, giving her enough room to push herself off of the person’s legs with a groan.

She looked up at the same time as a familiar head of messy brown hair. Two pairs of green eyes locked, and Serena felt her soul leave her body as Caleb rubbed the back of his head, glaring at her before his eyes widened in recognition. She jumped back, knocking into Taranee who was attempting to sit up behind her. Ignoring her yelp, Serena scrambled to her feet, determinedly looking at anything other than Caleb.

Caleb picked himself up, narrowing his eyes as he took in the presence of all six girls. “What are you doing here?!”

Will winced as she got to her feet, opening her mouth to answer when Hay Lin beat her to it.

“Never mind that! Why aren’t you wearing these clothes?” she growled, jabbing her finger down at Blunk.

Serena, relieved that Caleb’s attention was off of her, noticed something move out of the corner of her eye. Her heart jumped into her throat when she saw a green humanoid with stony protrusions on his face reach down and seize Cornelia’s forearm. The guard must have called for backup!

“Get your hands off of her!” she demanded. Summoning shadows, she blasted him away from Cornelia, sending him flying to the other side of the alley. When she saw him start to get up, her hands erupted in flickering balls of darkness as she marched towards him. So, the brute could take a hit, who cared? They had come this far, and she was not about to let any more of these gargoyle looking jerks threaten her friends.

She raised her fist to send a blast of shadows at the monster’s ugly face when- “Wait, stop!” Caleb suddenly appeared in front of her, arms wide and blocking her shot. “He’s a friend!” When she looked between him and the creature skeptically, he huffed and leaned into her. “He’s part of the rebellion,” he hissed lowly, eyes darting around for a potential eavesdropper.

Lowering her fist, she peered over Caleb’s shoulder. The creature’s eyes were fearful as he held his hands up in surrender. The stones on his face were smooth and shiny and a lot less threatening than she had originally thought. She didn’t know what species he was but, in her defense, all of the non-humans they had met so far had tried to capture or kill them.

“Oh,” Serena said sheepishly, finally allowing her shadows to dissipate. “Oh!“ She rushed to the green person’s side to help him to his feet. “I am so sorry. I thought you were one of the bad guys,” she confessed.

“Oh, uh... that’s okay,” he insisted, trying to put her mind at ease despite the fact that he was breathing hard. “I should have asked first, my name’s Aldarn,” he said, smiling kindly as he stuck his head out for her to shake.

“Serena, Guardian of Shadows,” she replied, taking his hand. “Sorry again, we’re still getting used to things on this side of the Veil.”

“Which is exactly why I didn’t want you guys here,” Caleb snapped, scowling at Serena who averted her eyes guiltily.

“We were looking for you!” Will protested, jumping to Serena’s defense. “We thought you’d been captured!”

“Yeah, would it have killed you to leave a sticky note on the fridge or something?” Irma asked, putting her hands on her hips. “Like ‘gone to other dimension for rebel stuff, be back by dinner.’ How hard was that?”

“I can take care of myself,” Caleb dismissed them. “I wouldn’t even be here if he,” he pointed to Blunk, “hadn’t stolen this key!” He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a metal key. It had a big ring on the end and looked like something you’d find in an antique shop.

“Wait,” Irma helped up her hands. “You’re telling me this is all the stink monkey’s fault?” She shot Blunk a nasty look, causing him to scamper away in order to avoid her wrath as well as Hay Lin’s.

“Well duh,” Caleb rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.

Aldarn cocked his eyebrow at him. “Duh? Your speech has like, changed Caleb.”

Caleb shook his head, brushing off the comment as another thought struck him. “And why were your running?”

“We were kind of running from...” Taranee turned around at the sound of thumping footsteps. “Him.”  
Serena winced; she had hoped they‘d lost the guard when he didn’t show up after they ducked into the alley. He pounded his way towards them, brandishing his sword above his head, ready to swing. “You!” he sneered. “Where are your papers?”

Papers? Like identification papers? She ignored the bizarre question and shifted to face him head on. She brought her hands inside the folds of her cloak to hide them as she powered up. The cool mist of the shadows enveloped her clenched fists as she made eye contact with Taranee next to her. Nodding to her subtly, the two turned back to the incoming guard, ready to go.

Aldarn on the other hand, was not so ready to throw down. Keeping his eyes on the guard he tried to push Caleb back to the other end of the alley. “Caleb run!” he whisper yelled.

Caleb remained unphased, shrugging off Aldarn’s hands. He glanced between the six Guardians before him and the lone guard who clearly had no idea who he’d been chasing. “Um officer, what size shoe do you wear?” he asked, grinning smugly.

“Cause we’re about to knock your socks off,” Serena finished, throwing her cloak behind her shoulders, and letting the shadows curl up from her hands. The other girls followed suit, revealing their brightly colored Guardian clothes and the elements at their ready.

The guard skidded to a halt when he recognized the display of power. “Guardians,” he breathed, his eyes growing wide with fear.

Right on cue, Serena and Taranee broke from the pack and charged. Serena pulled ahead, continuing straight for him as Taranee suddenly stopped and braced her arm. “Fire!” she called out, sending a large fireball careening towards the guard. It passed by Serena harmlessly and engulfed his sword, turning the metal a bright orange. He cried out and dropped the burning sword on the ground where it melted into liquid metal, running uselessly in the cracks of the street.

“Shadows!” The guard barely had enough time to look up and see Serena leap towards him with her fist cocked. As she punched downwards, she released a torrent of shadows, blasting the defenseless guard back into a stone wall. He grunted as the air was forced out of him and slumped to the muddy street. She thought that would the end of it but then the guard hauled himself to his feet with a groan.

Cornelia approached the staggering guard, stopping beside Serena as she pointed a delicate finger at a potted plant sitting on a second story windowsill. The plant trembled, its pot rocking back and forth until it fell off the ledge, shattering on the guard’s head. He swayed dizzily, eyes rolling as he tried to pin them down. Will casually walked up to him and knocked him over and out with just a push of her finger.

“Hah! And that’s how the Guardians do it,” Irma cheered, straightening up from her defensive position in front of the guys.

“I’d say our practice is really starting to pay off,” Serena commented, giving Taranee a high five for their teamwork.

“That was incredible!” Aldarn marveled. “I’ve read about the Guardian’s abilities but to see them in person... just wow. Can you all shoot stuff out of your hands?” he asked excitedly.

“Well not exactly,” Taranee answered. “Cornelia’s powers...”

Caleb tuned the discussion out as he stepped around the girls, kneeling beside the guard, and looking him over thoughtfully. “This might just work,” he murmured to himself, rubbing his jaw as a plan started to come together.

“What might?” asked Will, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Caleb responded shortly as he began strip the guard of his armor.

Serena’s brows furrowed as he wrestled the oversized pieces over his own body, buckling the shoulder guard in place. The contrast in size was almost comical. He looked like he would tip over if he tried to stand up. He reached down and pulled off the guard’ belt before clinching it around his own waist, making sure the shiny buckle was in plain view. He was obviously trying to impersonate the guard but for what?

When he turned and looked back at the castle towering above the city it hit her. “You’re going to sneak into the castle?” Serena burst out.

“I said it’s none of your concern,” he stressed, setting the enormous helmet over his head. It fell forward a bit, slipping down his nose and covering his eyes. He huffed, pushing the helmet back up so he could see through the eyeholes. Although precariously balanced, it covered his forehead and went down past his cheekbones. It actually worked pretty well as a mask.

“Are you kidding me?” Irma exclaimed. “We have saved your butt twice now and you want to go back into the den of evil?”

“Yeah, talk about gratitude,” Cornelia scoffed, tossing her hair back.

“If I don’t return the key, Vathic will die,” Caleb argued, clenching the key in his pocket. “He’ll be thrown into the Abyss of Shadows!”

Serena looked between Will and Caleb as they glared at each other in a battle of wills. She sympathized with Caleb; they had refused to leave Will at the mercy of Phobos so she couldn’t fault him for doing the same for his friend. However, he also didn’t have any powers which means he and his friend would be defenseless in a castle full of armed guards. “Maybe if we go with you, we can-“

“Not a chance,” he cut her off. “You’ve already attracted one guard; I don’t need you alerting the entire army.”

Well maybe if he had bothered to let them in on his plans, they wouldn’t have had to follow him, she thought, crossing her arms.

“I don’t know Caleb,” Aldarn hesitated. “What if...”

“You can’t be serious?!” Caleb griped, throwing his hands up exasperated.

Aldarn simply shrugged. “The last time you went into that castle alone you almost didn’t come out,” he stated softly, giving Caleb a hard look

Caleb felt a twinge of guilt as he looked away. They had both lost people to Prince Phobos and it never got any easier. The loss of Aldarn’s mother was what brought him and his farther to join the rebellion in the first place. And he’ll never forget the day he lost his farther to Lord Cedric’s forces. Aldarn was more than just his best friend, he was his right hand man. They were brothers in arms, a bond he shared with all of his commanders. Caleb knew exactly how he must have felt when he didn’t return to the Infinite City. Had it been the other way around, he too would have blamed himself for what happened.

“Fine,” he sighed, turning back to Will. “You can come, but only as back up and you follow my lead.”

“Deal,” Will agreed as the others cheered.

Caleb rolled his eyes. “Girls,” he muttered under his breath. Aldarn chuckled and walked over to clap him on the back, nearly knocking him over. The Galhots were always stronger than their human neighbors no matter what they were mixed with.

“Um, do you have any more armor?” Taranee chimed in as the girls quieted down. “Because I don’t think these cloaks are going to be enough.”

Caleb’s eyes raked over the six girls. Even with the cloaks and hoods, it would be obvious to anyone who looked hard enough that they were too young to work in the castle. Not to mention their garish pink and blue outfits would be easily spotted. There was no way they could simply accompany him through the front gate.

He mused quietly to himself before turning to Aldarn. “Does Balinor’s father still have that cart we used on the Sumaria mission?”

While the girls looked at each other confused, Aldarn grinned. Trust Caleb to make his anyone who tried to help him regret their decision. He never was good at accepting help when he needed it.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

“No way, absolutely not.” Cornelia shook her head, crossing her arms and turning away definitively.

“Come on Cornelia,” Will pleaded. “It’s our best chance to get into the castle.”

“I don’t care, I’m not getting in there.” She gestured wildly to the wooden cart piled high with hay. “There could be bugs in there and the hay could get in my hair!”

Serena shuddered at the thought of bugs, looking closely at the hay for any signs of movement. With only one set of guard’s armor to act as a disguise, they had to find another way to sneak the girls into the castle. She assumed they could simply sneak in through the drainpipe they had used last time, but Caleb said he had a different plan. He and Aldarn guided them across the city to a stable where an old cart sat against the wall, filled to the brim with hay. Aldarn left shortly after Caleb ordered them to climb inside.

Caleb rolled his eyes at Cornelia’s behavior. He had hoped that when he revealed his plan they would refuse and give him a solid reason to ditch them. After having seen how they lived on earth, in luxurious homes with food always available for minimal labor, he was sure they would balk at getting their hands dirty and return to earth. Unfortunately, it seemed like the plan was only working on Cornelia.

“Cornelia if you don’t get your butt in this wagon, we are leaving you behind and you’ll have to find your way back to the portal yourself,” Irma threatened as she, Taranee and Hay Lin worked their way under the hay.

“You’re the Earth Guardian,” Serena reminded her from her perch on the edge of the cart. “You can probably just magic the hay to float above your head.”

“Just pull your hood up,” Hay Lin suggested helpfully, “that should protect your hair.”

Cornelia whined, looking between her friends and the cart. She grimaced as she pulled the hood of her cloak as tight to her head as possible. Holding the neck closed with one hand, she climbed into the back of the cart and stepped gingerly into the hay. She flinched as her foot sank, looking up at Serena who simply raised an eyebrow, amused. Cornelia sneered at her before carefully sitting down, curling up in her cloak to avoid the hay. “Can we get this over with?” she called down.

Will sighed as she leaned against the outside of the cart. “We can’t leave yet,” she reminded her. “We’re still waiting on-“

A loud snort came from deeper in the barn and Serena let out a delighted gasp as Aldarn appeared around a corner, leading a stocky bay draft horse.

“Oh great, here we go,” Irma muttered to Hay Lin who giggled in response.

Serena scurried back down the cart, skipping the last rung to jump to the ground. She tried to restrain herself, keeping her movements slow and calm but she couldn’t help the bounce in her step as she made her way over to Aldarn and the horse.

“Oh, he’s beautiful,” she praised, holding her hand out politely for the horse to sniff. She beamed as it leaned down and nudged the back of her hand with its soft nose. Taking this as a sign of acceptance, she gently placed her hand on its snout, rubbing up its nose to scratch at its forelock. “What’s its name?” she asked.

“Berook,” Aldarn answered, smiling fondly as he rubbed the horse’s neck. “Balinor uses him to deliver supplies. He’s dropped off several loads of iron ore at the forge,” he told her as Serena reached up to rub Berook’s ears, making him lean into her hand. “He’s as strong as an ox but as sweet tempered as a butterfly.”

“Aww, who’s a good boy?” Serena cooed softly, cupping his nose in her hands as her eyes sparkled.

“If you haven’t noticed,” Caleb frowned, crossing his arms. “We’re kind of on a time limit here.”

Serena looked back at him confused before registering his words. The girls were all smirking at her from the hay pile. “Oh right, sorry,” she said, giving Berook one last scratch under the chin before hurrying back to the cart and climbing in. She plopped down in the hay beside Irma who grinned at her.

“What?” Serena asked. 

“Nothing,” Irma shook her head, looking off to the side. She laughed as Serena grabbed a handful of hay and tossed it at her for acting weird.

Caleb narrowed his eyes at their antics and went to help Aldarn harness Berook to the cart. This was an extremely risky and delicate operation and if they didn’t stop messing around, they were going to get everyone caught before they even left the stable. This was why he preferred to work alone, regardless of what Aldarn said. The more people involved in a mission the more likely a mistake could be made that got everyone killed.

Berook shorted, shifting as Caleb tightened the last strap. He gave him a comforting pat on the flank to settle him before turning to face Will. “We’re ready, I’ll distract the guard while you guys stay hidden,” he reiterated the plan. “And try not to make any noise, alright?”

Will narrowed her eyes at the dig. “I’m sure we’ll be fine,” she replied flatly before turning and climbing into the cart. “Everybody get down,” she instructed as she started to pile hay on top of herself.

Serena did her best to wiggle underneath the hay. The cart wasn’t very large, so they were all practically sitting on top of each other. Her cloak kept getting snagged as well which tangled her up a few times. Eventually her fingertips hit the bottom of the cart and she worked to widen the hole before settling inside. Pulling her knees to her chest, she reached up and grabbed handfuls of hay to bury herself. She was careful when covering her head so as not to accidentally poke her eyes, but it was hard when she couldn’t exactly see what she was doing. Afterwards, she gave her general area a pat down to make sure there weren’t any gaps before pulling her arm down and tucking it in between her folded legs. She heard the rustling caused by the other girls continue for another minute or two before it eventually got quiet.

“Can you guys see us?” Will called out from somewhere behind her.

“Hold on,” Caleb requested. The cart jostled and Serena heard hay rustle as he shifted it around. The space around her grew darker as he piled more hay on top of her. She made sure to keep still and after a while the rustling stopped, and he jumped off the cart satisfied.

“Don’t move,” he told them before his footsteps drifted to the front of the cart. “If we’re not back in two hours, go back to the base and start reconnaissance.”

“Be careful,” Aldarn replied.

Serena tracked his footsteps as he walked past the cart to the stable door. She heard it drag against the ground as he swung it open. It was quiet for a second before three knocks broke the silence. That was the signal that it was all clear outside. Caleb clicked his tongue at Berook, and the cart lurched forward. Berook’s hooves clacked against the cobblestone as they pulled out of the stable and headed towards the castle. She wasn’t sure how long they rattled down the street, all she had to rely on was her ears. She only knew they were out of the city when she heard the sound of crickets and watering trickling instead of the wheels. She figured they must be on the path through the massive swamp that surrounded the castle. After a few minutes she felt her center of gravity shift, indicating they were on an incline.

“We’re here,” Caleb hissed lowly before the cart rolled to a stop.

This was the make it or break it point, they had to be let through the castle gatehouse. According to Caleb, anything entering or exiting the castle had to be inspected and approved by the guards. Prince Phobos was confident that most peasants wouldn’t dare try anything, but he knew the rebellion would take any opening they could get. A few years ago, a kitchen worker had tried to smuggle a vial of unsanctioned poison inside a bag of flour. He was searched at the gatehouse and when they found the poison, Phobos had two guards force it down his throat as he watched.

“Hay for Prince Phobos’s horses,” Caleb announced, deepening his voice to disguise it.

For a minute nothing happened. Serena hardly dared to breathe, taking weak, shallow breaths to keep her chest from moving. She was curled up so tight that she trembled with the effort of keeping completely still. Staring at the hay in front of her, she strained her ears for any indication as to what was happening. She heard big, heavy footsteps walk past her side of the cart and scrunched her eyes shut. Suddenly the cart started moving again, making her flinch as they’re rumbled forward. When no one shouted and no spears came thrusting into the hay, she took a deep, stuttering breath in relief.

Despite those being the most nerve wracking minutes of her life, the hardest part was yet to come. They still had to get in and out of the castle without being seen. She was starting to see why Caleb had wanted to go alone. Even just sending one of them with him while the others waited behind the castle walls as backup would have been less risky than all seven of them going in together. Well, it was too late now.

Caleb led Berook into the castle stables, pulling around a corner on the far side of the door. He had assured Aldarn that once they returned the key, Vathic would be able to smuggle Berook back out. No grooms came to greet them which hopefully meant they were all already asleep. Just to be safe, he waited a few seconds, watching and listening for signs of movement. After being met with nothing but the sound of horses in their stalls, he rapped the side of the cart twice.

Serena uncurled and sat up, brushing hay off her shoulders as she and the other girls looked around. From what she could tell, the stables consisted of an inner and outer ring of stalls. They had backed into an empty equipment stall out of sight from the main door. Horses of a variety of sizes and colors turned their heads as they climbed out of the cart. She did a double take, her eyes widening when she spotted several horses with horns growing out of their snout and two sets of eyes. What was wrong with this place? Was there radioactive waste in the water or something?

“There’s a passageway in the back that leads to the castle,” Caleb whispered. “We sneak through there, return the key and get out.”

“Easy enough,” said Irma as she helped Taranee down.

“Normally it would be,” Caleb grumbled under his breath. Without waiting to see if they were following, he marched off to the supply stall where the secret door was hidden behind a false wall. He was sorely tempted to just leave them here and carry on with the mission alone. They would only serve to distract him and slow him down since now he had to worry about six civilians as well as himself and Vathic. However, he knew their odds would be even worse without him and the Guardians in the hands of Phobos would not be good for the rebellion. If he wanted to keep some power players of his own, he would have to push through and play nice. He sighed and slowed down, looking over his shoulder to make sure they were following him.

Serena had thought once they made it past the gatehouse, she would be able to calm down but just being near the castle was enough to keep her on edge. Nothing like walking into the heart of your enemies. Straw cracked and crunched under her feet as they made their way down the hall, making her feel like she was about to tip off the guards any second. The last thing she wanted to do was get in a fight, especially when surrounded by flammable material and low ceilings. And she would hate to accidentally hurt the horses.

Caleb guided them down a row of stalls to one filled with feedbags, tools, and a wooden wheelbarrow. He crouched down in the back of the stall and ran his finger along the stone wall. He followed the lines of mortar that held the stones in place until he reached a particularly triangular stone. In the center was an X. To anyone else it would like a simple mason’s mark, but he knew better. He pressed his shoulder against that stone and pushed. A portion of the wall several feet in diameter swung back, creating a jagged entrance. He beckoned the girls to follow as he crawled through on his hands and knees.

Serena crawled in after Hay Lin, accidentally kneeling on her cloak and causing her to jerk in front of her. “Sorry,” she whispered. The tunnel itself was much taller than its entrance and she was able to stand up and look around. Taranee had summoned a small fireball, allowing it to hover over her palm which illuminated a small portion passageway. Beyond the reach of the fire’s light, Serena could see the rough and irregular stones that made up the walls bathed in shades of blue and grey. The ceiling was supported by old beams that looked like they would collapse at any minute. Dusty cobwebs stretched between them and Serena hunched in on herself to avoid bumping into any of them.

Caleb led them wordlessly down the tunnel, their footsteps startling the occasionally rat, sending it screeching and scurrying into a dark crevice. They walked for several minutes before they reached a wooden door at the end of the tunnel. Caleb held up his fist as he stopped, waiting for the girls to do the same before reaching for the door. Instead of a doorknob, there was a thick black ring, covered in rust and looked like it hadn’t been used in over a century. It ground against its hinge when Caleb tried to pull it, refusing to budge an inch. Motioning for them to stand back, he braced himself and yanked on the ring. The door dragged along the floor as it open only a few inches with a loud creak. They froze and waited but didn’t hear any movement from outside. Caleb very gently set the ring down and gripping the edge of the door, began to inch it open at a snail’s pace. As the door opened it revealed rows of stone plastered to its front, like the door in the stable it was designed to blend seamlessly into the wall. Beyond it, light filtered through a thick bolt of cloth, penetrating swirls or green, red, and blue.

Once the door was opened enough for them to slip through, Caleb reached back and grabbed ahold of the nearest girl’s arm. Will looked at him like he had lost his mind. She went to yank her arm back when he motioned for her to calm down and keep quiet. He pulled her through the door and after a brief second, he reappeared and grabbed the next girl in line, repeating the process.

When he reached for Serena, she did her best to appear nonchalant about it in spite of the fact that her insides were currently buzzing. This was the first time he had touched her voluntarily. Being extremely careful not to accidentally brush up against the tapestry, he aligned her flat against the wall shoulder to shoulder with Hay Lin. He made a motion telling her to stay put and her eyes sparkled as she nodded dumbly. When he let go of her to press Irma in beside her, the heat of his hand lingered on her arm. Compared to the cold stone at her back it was like he had seared his handprint into her flesh.

Once he had finished positioning them all he gently pulled the door shut and shuffled to the end of the tapestry. Looking down the wall, he made sure the coast was clear before he dared poke his head out to check the other side. They were on an upper floor of the guest wing which luckily didn’t see a lot of foot traffic thanks to Phobos’s particular style of hospitality. Most guests to the castle didn’t stay long before they were disposed of.

Serena hardly dared to breathe from her position behind the tapestry. Her chest brushed against the fabric every time she inhaled, and her nose was pressed against the gold threads of a monstrous dragon. She managed to turn her head to the side without disturbing the fabric just in time to see Caleb beckon to Will before stepping out from behind the tapestry. The correspondence traveled down the line, she grabbed Irma’s hand just as Hay Lin nudged her. The tapestry warped and waved as they knocked into it several times in their rush to follow Caleb.

They travelled signal file, nearly tripping over each other in an effort to stay together. Caleb led them down the hall past a myriad of closed doors and gruesome paintings until he stopped at an intersection. He checked around the corner in both directions before racing around it, the girls right on his heels. They continued in this pattern several times as he led them deeper into the castle. At one point they all had to squeeze behind a statue of a gargoyle like creature as a servant carrying a basket of sheets passed by. All of this sneaking around was going to give Serena a heart attack. Every time she heard a noise, she barely kept herself from jumping ten feet in the air.

Eventually they came to a humongous gallery. Polished marble pillars drew Serena’s eye up to the vaulted ceiling towering above them where jagged decorative spike pointed down at them. It was like the castle had modeled its interior off of the giant thorns that surrounded it. Everywhere she looked the walls boasted carvings of monsters with horns and colossal bodies attached to snake tails. Fireless torches cast the entire hall in an eerie green light. She flinched at the echo of their footsteps on the tiled floor as they crossed the hall, pinning themselves behind one of the pillars.

“This place gives me the creeps,” whispered Will, her eyes roving the nightmarish decor. “Just hide the key and let’s get out without being noticed.”

Caleb rolled his eyes, so much for staying quiet. “Oh yeah, that’s going to be real easy with six girls tagging along,” he retorts, leaning against the column to see around its curve.

“Hey!” Will snapped. “We are not tagging along Mr. Brave Hero.”

Caleb whipped around, shushing her. “Why didn’t I just bring a sack full of screaming cats?” He hissed, making Serena flinch. Will glared at him but remained silent.

Serena glanced between the two of them worriedly. Maybe it was just a typical conflict between leaders, despite Will having not been one for very long. Even if he hadn’t wanted them to accompany him, he should at least be able to understand it was just because they were worried about him. As much as it pained her to admit it, he didn’t have to like them to work with them. They just needed to work together long enough to help Caleb’s friend and get everyone back to Earth safely. Maybe if he spent more time instructing them instead of just snapping at them, this would be easier.

“Ugh, these things are itchy,” Cornelia complained in a hushed tone, scratching at her shoulder over the cloak.

Now that she mentioned it, Serena was kind of feeling off. She absentmindedly itched at her exposed forearm, eyes widening when she felt bumps under her nails. Whipping her cloak behind her shoulders she lifted her arm into the torch light, revealing a slew of red bumps dotted along her forearm.

“Uh, is this small blood sucking insect what I think it is?” Irma whispered, a teeny tiny bug crawling around on her finger.

No. No, no, no. Serena just barely managed to restrain herself from flailing hysterically and ripping her cloak off. They were still incognito, and any sudden movement could draw the attention of unfriendly eyes. She had to settle for pulling her cloak back to rest as low on her back as possible without falling off. The Black Plague was caused by fleas, right? And they’re essentially in the Middle Ages... Nope. She cut that train of thought off before it could leave the station. There was only so much she could handle at once.

Will snickered, leaning closer to them. “Don’t say anything,” she warned, cupping a hand beside her mouth. “Or they’ll hear Taranee screaming back at school.

Serena attempted to school her features into something a little less like abject horror as she glanced back at Taranee. Thankfully, she didn’t appear to have heard their conversation. She was too busy trembling fearfully as she scanned the room. Still, Will couldn’t possibly expect them to keep the cloaks on, could she? Her skin was starting to prickle all over although she wasn’t sure if that was due to the fleas or her own disgust. She’d never been bitten by fleas before, at least not to her knowledge. Now would be a really bad time for a reaction not to mention they didn’t exactly have the wonders of modern medicine to help her if she did.

“Let’s move,” Caleb ordered, pointing across the room at another column. Shaking off her concerns, Serena followed the girls as they transversed the vast open floor of the gallery. Paranoia made her steps lighter, a chill running down her spine at the increase in exposure. When she let out a rush of air as they reached the other side, she realized the tightness in her chest was due to her not breathing as they crossed.

Slinking along the wall, they headed towards a marble column partially embedded into the wall. On the other side was an open doorway above which hung the gargantuan skull of a mysterious creature. Serena sincerely hoped that the monsters decorating the hall were from legends or old myths. Because if she ever came across the owner of that skull, she would probably have a full blown panic attack.

Caleb held out a clenched fist as they reached the column, the girls packing in like sardines behind him. Apparently, Cornelia didn’t get the memo because she kept walking passed the column. Oblivious to Caleb whose face dropped as he frantically tried to reach and pull her back.

“Y’know, I just hope this is wool or linen,” Cornelia said absentmindedly, readjusting the cloak over her shoulders. “I don’t know what it is about synthetic fibers, but they give me such a...” she trailed off as she realized she had inadvertently walked in front of the open entranceway. Dozens of guards who had been raucously eating and drinking inside looked up at her arrival and immediately got to their feet. The sound of scraping iron rang out as they drew their weapons and advanced on her.

Caleb slapped a hand against his forehead, mentally kicking himself as the other girls didn’t hesitate to break cover to stand beside Cornelia. Why him?

“Itchy cloaks off,” said Irma as they all dropped their cloaks, freeing their wings for the fight.

A Lurden in the crowd roared, the rest of the guards joining in with their own battle cry as they rushed towards them. Serena leaped out of the way, wings a blue and green blur as she took up a position around the room with the others. After the install charge, the other girls opted to return to the ground to fight, each taking on their own group of guards. Serena remained in place, hovering by a large chandler in the center of the room. From there she could see the room as a whole and keep an eye on her friends and how they were faring. By flying above the fray, she could see all of the girls at once and interfere in case they were about to be hurt.

Taranee was keeping her guards at bay with consecutive rings of fire spiraling through their midst. Cornelia seemed to be having a grand old time, perched on top of an animated wooden table that swung one of its legs like a sword. Hay Lin dodged guards with ease, but it was Caleb and Will she was most concerned about. Neither had any real powers to speak of and therefore were the most vulnerable. However, they both seemed to be holding their own quiet well. Caleb had ditched his cumbersome armor and traded it for a sword and shield. He crossed weapons with a guard almost twice his size but with a few moves too quick for her to process, sent him flying over his shoulder. Will was nearby and utilized a bola with deadly efficiency despite her never having picked up the weapon before.

Having presented no counterattack of her own, the guards had pretty much forgotten Serena was there. Other than the occasional spear thrown her way, she was left to her own devices. However, with every second she spent up above the scene, her stomach twisted further. She wanted to be down there in the thick of it, taking on her fair share of bad guys alongside her friends. But another part of her worried that if she dropped from her vantage point, she may lose any chance to help until it was too late.

While she wrestled with herself, she noticed a group of Lurdens, and guards had congregated in the center of the room. Together they formed a tight ring around Taranee which also bridged the groups of soldiers fighting Irma and Hay Lin. At this rate, the girls would tire out before they could subdue them all. Not to mention every minute they spent fighting increased the chance of someone calling for back up and then they’d have the entire castle swarming them.

Serena was going to have to get in there for the best chance of them all coming out alive. Mind made up, she reared back her fist and sent a blast of shadows directly into the center of the amassing guards. Just like in practice, the impact carved through their ranks, sending several guards sprawling. It created just enough space for her to zoom down and land in the midst of them.

Before they had a chance to react, she rotated her hands and extending her arms, creating a ring of pulsing shadows around her. Channeling the cold feeling down her arms she pushed, and the ring expanded, shoving the guards even farther away. Realizing they were facing an attack from within their ranks, a good portion of the guards turned to face her which was exactly what she wanted. The more guards focused on her, the less there were available to fight her friends.

Several guards tried to rush her from different angles, but she swiped her hand, sending a wave of shadows to knock them away. Something snarled behind her and she turned around in time to blast a Lurden who had tried to attack her from behind. The force pushed it back into the ring of guards that surrounded her. They growled and shifted restlessly but refrained from making another charge. She didn’t know what they were waiting for, but she was grateful for the reprieve, pushing some hair out of her face as she tried to catch her breath. She really needed to start bringing hair ties whenever they crossed dimensions because her two little braids weren’t doing much to keep her hair out of her eyes.

Apparently one of the guards had gotten a clue because he reached down to a fallen guard and picked up his weapon. It was a studded ball attached to a wooden handle by a long, sturdy chain. He wrapped a portion of the chain around his fist and twirled the ball over his head before sending it flying at her. She dived out of the way, the ball turning the stones where she had been standing into rubble. The guard yanked it back to him and gave it another spin, sending it out again.

She couldn’t risk flying and losing the attention of the guards she was distracting. So, she was forced to dodge the mace as well as any guards that tried to grab her. She couldn’t see over the guard’s heads so her only clue as to how the others were doing was the occasional blast of fire or guard flying through the air. As she moved, she was unknowingly being driven towards the wall.

The next swing had Serena backing into the wall, wincing at the sharp pain that radiated through her wings. She risked a glance back to see if they were still intact but when she turned around the mace ball was already in flight and coming straight for her head. Weapons racks blocked her on either side and the circle of guards had closed in, sensing blood was about to be spilled. There was no dodging this one.

Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her face in an attempt to block the blow. Her eyes scrunched tight as she braved herself for the inevitable pain. She felt the impact radiate up her arms... but it didn’t hurt? Opening her eyes, she saw a dome of shadows surrounding her, hovering just a few inches above her crossed arms. Flickers of shadow lapped across its surface and through the ripples she could see the mace ball lying limply beside the wall of the dome.

She looked through the ripples up at the guard who looked about as surprised as she was. His eyes widened as she grinned cheekily and pushed against the shadow barrier. It flew forwards as a solid wall of shadows, ramming into him and sending him flying backwards. Serena got to her feet and flapped her wings, soaring into the air to scan the room for a status update.

Cornelia was still going strong, her table leaving a trail of battered guards behind it as it waltzed through the room. Serena’s eyes narrowed when she saw a guard tiptoeing up behind Cornelia’s table, keeping himself low to avoid the table’s reach. Ducking under another swing, he jumped up and grabbed ahold of Cornelia’s ankle. She screamed as he pulled her off the table, throwing her to the floor. “Looks like we’re going to have to clip those wings!” He grinned menacingly as he advanced on her.

“Not on my watch!” said Serena, flying into him feet first and kicking him across the room. Turning to Cornelia, she reached down to help her up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Cornelia breathed, taking her hand, and pulling herself up. “You take the left, I’ll take the right?” she suggested, gesturing to the pack of drooling Lurdens encircling them.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Serena smirked, cracking her knuckles. Standing back to back, they dove back into the fray.

Across the room, Will flew into the air, avoiding a battle axe that embedded itself into the wall where she had been just moments before. Looking out over the room, she took in the individual fights and the growing number of guards laid out on the floor. They were holding their own just fine, but this was taking a little too long for comfort. “Irma, Hay Lin!” she called down, getting their attention. “Let’s wrap this up!”

At the sound of Will’s call, Serena looked back at Cornelia who nodded and the two of them abandoned their fight and flew over to Will. Caleb and the other girls did the same and they rallied together in the center of the guards still remaining. Irma and Hay Lin took their places hovering above the group, while Serena and the other girls formed a protective circle around Will and Caleb. Together they watched and waited as the hoard of guards and Lurdens started to close in.

“Water!” Irma called out from above as she doused the bad guys. Keeping the stream of water steady, she turned, making sure to soak every guard and Lurden in the room.

“Air!” Hay Lin swung her arms and the air in the room began to spin, forming an indoor tornado. Keeping her friends in the eye of the tornado, she let directed it to spin faster and faster, lowering the temperature of the room. The cold combined with the water dripping off the guards covered them in a cocoon of ice and froze them in place. Hay Lin called for the winds to dissipate and the tornado faded away, revealing a ring of ice statues surrounding the girls.

“Wow guardsicles,” Irma nodded approvingly as she rapped her knuckles on the frozen face of a petrified guard.

“Okay, we’ve bought ourselves about 10 minutes,” said Will before pausing and  
eyeballing at the open entrance way at the end of the dining hall. “Provided that nobody heard the fight and isn’t currently running to come chop us into sushi.”

“This way quick!” Caleb called from an open arch across the room. He didn’t wait for them and disappeared around the corner forcing the girls to race after him. They ran down a long hallway, devoid of any paintings or decorations like the large hall from earlier. Serena picked up the smell of bread and meat coming from the opposite direction. The hallway must connect with the kitchen at some point. They caught up to Caleb just as he reached a spiral stairwell. It was tight, they had to go down in single file but that didn’t stop them from skipping several steps at a time as they went.

At the bottom of the stairwell was a narrow corridor. The ceiling was low which prevented them from simply flying to their destination. However, running on foot would take more time, something Serena was keenly aware of. They had already wasted precious time as a result of their battle in the dining hall. With second they lost by running instead of flying they risked being too late to save Caleb’s friend. She was sure Caleb would never forgive them if they let him die.

The blocks of black stone that made up the corridor transitioned into a tunnel of carved out red rock. She hoped that meant they were getting closer to the Abyss of Shadows. Ducking around a bend, they could finally see the blue light that harkened the end of the tunnel. Just outside was a rocky ledge and a large blue creature kneeled preciously at its rim. It looked like a guard was standing over him except he wore a blue cape along with his armor. “Say hello to the other conspirators for me,” he sneered, his voice raspy.

“Actually, you can do that yourself.”

Will, who had been at the front of the pack with Caleb, rushed forward just as the guard turned around and socked him right in the jaw. He teetered on his feet before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the ground unconscious.

Serena raised an eyebrow approvingly. To K.O. someone in one punch was impressive. She had been noticing little instances like this and wondered if they were actually stronger in Guardian form. No offense to Will but she was skinny as a twig and didn’t exactly have the muscle mass required to knockout someone twice her size. Not to mention the fact that they could carry full grown men individually which is something she definitely couldn’t do as a human. She had trouble doing a single pull-up let alone carrying anyone else.

The Lurden which has been standing off the side when they first came in, raised its hole ridden axe. Serena clenched her fists as it charged towards them. She was getting really sick and tired of these grotesque pests. Before she could blast the Lurden off the ledge, a tiny fireball appeared in front of its face. Serena straightened up, turning to Taranee who had a single finger directing the fireball. It followed her movements, drifting back and forth in front of the Lurden.

“You are sleepy,” Taranee commanded in a soothing voice as she manipulated the fireball. “Not to mention ugly.”

Serena watched in bewildered awe when the Lurden’s eyes began to droop as they followed the light. It yawned, its open maw revealing a scattered array of broken and jagged teeth before falling over backwards asleep. Serena tentatively walked over to the snoring creature, nudging its shoulder with the toe of her boot. The Lurden’s head lolled to the side but otherwise it didn’t stir. “Out like a light,” she reported to Taranee, shaking her head incredulously. She would have never guessed that fire could be used for hypnosis.

Movement drew her back to the blue creature which was getting to its feet. She tensed but restrained from attacking. She didn’t want a repeat of the Aldarn incident. It was humanoid, though she was beginning to understand that that didn’t mean much in these parts. He was easily ten feet tall and had rough looking blue skin. He had the same stone structures on his face that Aldarn had except this guy looked more like an ogre while Aldarn could almost pass as human.

His eyes darted warily between the Guardians before settling on Caleb. His face lit up as he rushed forward and enveloped him in a giant bear hug. “Caleb!” he exclaimed joyfully.

“Easy, easy,” Caleb wheezed as he was swung around, but his smile gave him away. It suited him, taking some of the darkness out of his eyes and making him look like a normal, lighthearted teenage boy. Her face fell when she realized that this was first time she had ever seen him smile. Was he truly that unhappy on earth?

The blue creature reluctantly set Caleb back on his feet, clapping him on the back and nearly pitching him forward. Caleb laughed, the sound ringing in Serena’s ears as he straightened up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “My good friend Vathic, these are the Guardians of the Veil,” he introduced.

“Hi,” the girls chorused, waving politely.

Vathic startled at their title, taking in their wings as he recalled Taranee’s power over fire. “Hello,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.

Hay Lin’s head tilted as she looked Vathic up and down. “You sure don’t look like a good guy,” she blurted out.

“Hay Lin!” Serena hissed, her eyes darting nervously between Hay Lin and Vathic. Okay, she might have been expecting Vathic to be human as well, but you can’t just say things like that.

Hay Lin flinched, smiling apologetically.

“Uh, thank you?” said Vathic, glancing at Caleb who just shrugged.

“Oh!” Caleb’s eye’s widened as he dug his hand into his coat pocket. “I brought the key,” he announced, holding it up to Vathic.

Vathic went to reach for it but then his shoulders slumped, and he let his hand fall away. “It’s too late,” he sighed, shaking his head. “They’ve searched everywhere, Raythor knows it’s not here.” He gestured to the guard lying at their feet. “Its sudden reappearance can do me no good now.”

“Or maybe it can,” Will mused, smirking mischievously. “I have an idea. Call out an alarm.”

“What?” Vathic asked, alarmed.

“Scream for help,” she repeated, as if her plan were obvious. “Y’know, Guardians in the Castle.”

Vathic looked to Caleb unsure but Will ignored him and walked up to Caleb sticking her hand out. “The key,” she requested. Caleb hesitated, gazing at her hard but wordlessly handing it over.

Seeing that Caleb was in, Vathic cupped his mouth and called out, “Guardians! Guardians, help!” His voice echoed throughout the cavern.

As his voice faded away, a muffled horn sounded off from somewhere in the castle, making Serena flinch. She really, really did not want to get into another fight. She had barely managed to keep her head intact in the last one. Sure, they had come out unscathed, but you could only get lucky so many times. They didn’t even have armor and she could say for a fact that playing dodgeball with sharp objects was not her favorite activity.

Will knelt down beside Raythor and lifted his chest strap, slipping Caleb’s key underneath it. Turning to Vathic, she took his arm and lead him to an open spot on the ground. “Now lie down and don’t move,” she directed. He obliged her and lowered himself to the floor, closing his eyes.

Just in time too, because the alarm horn sounded again, this time from much closer. Serena tensed when it was followed by the sound of multiple running footsteps. Within seconds, a battalion of guards came pouring out of the tunnel, taking up position in front of it to block a potential escape route. They jeered, banging their swords against their shields as several pole axes were lowered, forcing the girls to retreat back to the rim of the ledge or risk being impaled.

Serena glared back in defiance as she and the other Guardians took to hovering above the platform to give Caleb more room. A Lurden in the crowd lunged forward, snapping its jaws closed around their air where Serena’s foot had been a second ago. She jerked back, hurling a ball of shadows at its feet to force it away. She let the shadows engulf her fists and travel up her arms as further warning. The Lurden snarled in response but slunk back to rejoin the other guards.

Overall, there were less guards than they had faced in the dining hall but any hopes of making this quick and easy were dashed when Cedric emerged under the mouth of the tunnel. Towering to his full height before them, he grinned, fangs glinting in the torchlight. “Seize them!” he hissed. The guards at his tail let out a war cry, waving their weapons in the air before charging towards them.

Cornelia, however, didn’t let them talk more than a few steps, reaching up to the stalactites that dangled above the platform. She curled her hands into a fist and yanked, dislodging them from the ceiling and allowing them to crash into the guard’s formation.

Will grinned triumphantly at the chaotic scene before turning back to Serena. “Hey Serena, lights out!”

“You got it!” Serena called back, stretching her arms out in front of her. Summoning the cold, a ball of whisping shadows flickered to life in between her hands. Flinging her arms wide, the ball expanded, rapidly filling the air around the platform, and casting it in total darkness. The guards below cried out in alarm as their world went black.

The girls didn’t waste any time, Taranee and Hay Lin reached down to grab Caleb and flew him off the platform as they shot up the cavern wall. Serena had assumed they would go straight to the top and out another tunnel when Will suddenly ducked into a side tunnel just above the ledge. They hesitated, confused but followed her in after she frantically ushered them behind her.

As they landed, Taranee searched the other girls faces for an idea as to what was going on before turning to Will. “Uh, shouldn’t we be-“

“Shh!” Will hissed, pressing herself against the tunnel wall and leaning as close to the opening as she dared. Her eyes stared into nothing as she tilted her head to the side.

She was trying to listen for something, Serena realized. She immediately squished herself against the rock, pressing against Will’s side as she tried to do the same. She wasn’t sure what she was listening for, all she could hear were guards talking over themselves. After a minute they quieted down as she felt her shadow screen disappear. Then an unmistakable Cedric bellowed out “search the tunnels!” furiously when he found out they were gone.

The pounding of footsteps signaled the guard’s dispersal before it got quiet again. She wondered if Cedric was still there and was tempted to stick her head out when somebody groaned. For a brief second, she was worried that Vathic might have been injured into the scuffle but then she recognized the voice as Raythor, the guard Will had knocked out. He must have regained consciousness from all the noise.

“We were taken by surprise,” he reported. So, she was right. Cedric must still be down there.

She felt something brush up against her arm and turned to look only for her heat to stop at the sight of Caleb leaning over her, trying to listen in as well. She stared into his chest, trying to keep her breathing even before risking a glance up at his face. She was relieved to see that he wasn’t paying any attention to her, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he tried to make out the conversation below. She knew his eyes were olive green but from this close she could see flecks of blue scattered throughout them as well. A ring of gold encircled his pupils like a halo, making his eyes appear to shine from within.

He must have sensed her eyes on him because he suddenly looked down. She whipped her head back around to face Will, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Great, he probably thought she was creepy for staring at him like that. What was wrong with her? She talked to Luke and Austin all the time, why couldn’t she act like she did with them? She didn’t gaze wistfully into Austin’s eyes despite the fact that they were a really nice shade of blue.

While she was busy mentally kicking herself in the butt, Will peeled herself off the wall in front of her. The loss of the support nearly sent her tumbling out of the tunnel. Catching herself on the wall, she straightened up and focused entirely on Will, pointedly keeping her eyes off of Caleb as he kicked off the wall.

“Did it work?” asked Irma, leaning forward.

Did what work? Serena tried to figure out what she was talking about when she remembered they were supposed to be eavesdropping to see if Will’s plan had worked. Stupid, she chastised herself. She was supposed to be making sure Vathic was alright instead of gaping at Caleb like an idiot.

“We’re good,” Will reported, holding up a ‘O.K.’ sign with a grin.

“Great,” Cornelia drawled. “Can we leave now? I think we missed dinner in our world and I’m starving.”

Will let out a long suffering sigh but walked to the mouth of the tunnel anyways. She tentatively leaned out from behind the corner, checking to see if Cedric or any of the guards had returned. “All clear,” she announced, flying out.

Cornelia was quick to follow as Taranee and Hay Lin walked up to Caleb, standing before him expectantly. Caleb looked between the two of them and groaned, holding his arms out in resignation. The girls giggled as he pouted and gripping him under the arms, pulling him out of the tunnel with them.

“That boy gets lugged around more than my mom’s handbag,” Irma quipped, coming to stand next to Serena.

“Except he’s not nearly as quiet about it,” she responded. They snickered as they approached the end of the tunnel. Serena flapped her wings, gently lifting herself into the air and flew after the others. She snuck a glance at Caleb as they made their way out of the cavern. She desperately hoped he didn’t think too much about her weird behavior. Not that he thought about her anyways, but he was keenly observant. Deducing body language was probably a valuable skill for him as a rebel. Maybe if she just avoided him for a while, he would forget about it. Out of sight, out of mind as they said.

They travelled up the Abyss’s wall, exiting through the same tunnel she and Hay Lin had used before. She and Irma guarded the back of the pack, keeping an eye out for anything trying to sneak up on them as they moved through the castle corridors. By the time they reached the above ground floors of the castle, they had completely abandoned any attempts at stealth. With the alarm already raised, every guard in the castle would be searching for them. Now was not the time for creeping around corners and ducking into alcoves. They had to get out of the castle as fast as possible.

Up in front, Will and Caleb went to turn down the left branch of the hallway in front of them when they skidded to a halt. “This way!” yelled Caleb and they took off in the opposite direction. As Serena turned the corner, she could hear guards shouting from the other side. Looking ahead, Serena recognized a rearing bear statue. This was it! The hallway with the open arch windows that she had flown out of last time. She could see moonlight spilling onto the stone floor at the end of the hallway. They were almost there!

She caught a glimpse of open sky just as two guards came racing around the corner of an intersecting corridor in front the windows. She felt the jerk travel up her knees as both groups slammed on the breaks, staring down the hall at each other. Serena took a step back, tenser than a coiled spring as her eyes darted around for an idea. The guards stood between them and their exit point. They would have to go through them no matter what.

Apparently, Cornelia had the same thought but in a more literal sense. She reached out and pulled the towering bear statue off its perch, flinging it at the guards. Serena saw the whites of their eyes (which were actually yellow) widen just before the statue hit them square in the chest. They flew down the hall, crashing into the wall at its dead end. The Guardians didn’t wait to see if they got up, grabbing Caleb, they flew out the windows and into the courtyard.

They immediately worked to gain altitude as they made a beeline back to the portal. Serena heard another alarm call and turned in the air to see several guards running onto the battlements of the perimeter wall. They made a weird motion with their arms and her eyes widened as she realized they were trying to shoot arrows at them. She put a stop to that by slinging her arm and sending a wave of shadows down at them. The guards dropped their bows and scattered as the shadows crashed into the wall where they had been standing. She kept an eye on the guards until she was sure she and the others were out of range even for the gigantic bows they had been carrying.

As they flew over the swamp in the direction of the city, the dense cloud cover overhead broke, allowing a sliver of moon light to shine down on the swamp below. It bounced off the water, scattering into a thousands of tiny sparkles like twinkling stars. It would have been a mesmerizing sight if it weren’t for the enormous thorny vines that broke up the visage. They sprawled across the landscape like an infection. It was as if everything good and beautiful in this world had been defiled by evil.

By the time they reached the mountains, the clouds had consolidated again, cutting off the moonlight and plunging the land into darkness once more. The change in lighting was weird. Everything was still crystal clear which Serena knew shouldn’t be the case. She had walked down the street to Irma’s house after a 10 o’clock movie and she could barely see anything outside the reach of the streetlights. But now, with virtually no natural light let alone artificial ones, she could still see for miles in any direction. The peak of the mountain was perfectly defined even though logically she shouldn’t have been able to see it at all. Will must’ve seen it as well because she was leading the girls straight to it. Maybe it was just a Guardian thing, heightened vision as well as strength.

But that still didn’t explain the colors. The world was cast in blues, grays and blacks which sounded right except when she looked back at the city, the orange tiled roofs appeared blue. She squinted to see if the colors would change but they didn’t. Come to think of it, she had noticed something similar in the tunnel Caleb lead them through. Spiderwebs weren’t blue, she knew that for a fact. Unless they belonged to some weird monster hybrid variety. This place seemed to be fond of mix and matching animals into terrifying results. At least some of the horses were normal.

“I see the portal!” Will called back, pointing off in the distance.

Serena blinked, abandoning her line of thought as she followed Will’s finger. On the other side of the mountain peak, she had been contemplating was the electric blue glow of the portal. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any surprise monsters waiting for them like there was last time. That had not been fun.

As they approached the cliffside that hosted the portal, she realized that unlike the previous two portals which had been upright, this one was lying flat. Will reached the portal first, circling overheard to make sure everything was clear. Once she deemed it safe, she hovered over the portal, preparing to dive in when-

“Wait!”

Will jerked to a stop just a few feet over the portal’s surface and looked back at Taranee. “What?”

“We can’t go in that way,” she explained, flying up to Will.

“What are you talking about?” Cornelia huffed. “It’s a door, you go in one way and come out the other.”

“But the direction you go in determines the direction you go out,” Taranee countered. “The portal is aligned horizontally,” she continued, bending down to see the underside of the portal. “When we went in through the top on Earth, we came out underneath the portal in Meridian. What if by going through the top in this world, we come out the bottom on Earth. We’d fly face first into the sewer!”

“Oh, that is disgusting,” Serena grimaced, backing away from the portal.

“Yeah, take it from someone who knows,” Irma affirmed. “It might be just me, but I would like to go home without smelling like Blunk on a good day.”

Will shuddered. “Good point. Let’s go in from the bottom.”

The girls followed her lead as she and Taranee rose away from the portal. Once they had climbed high enough, they turned and dived, pulling up just before they hit the ground. They cruised at a few feet before ducking under the portal to enter it from below. Serena heard Caleb shout just as the electricity caused her vision to white out as she went through the portal. He must not have appreciated that little maneuver, she grinned to herself.

With a burst of lightning, the still night air of Meridian was replaced by the traffic sounds of downtown Heatherfield. She landed near the brick wall of a closed shop as one by one the remaining girls popped out of the portal. Hay Lin and Taranee emerged last, setting Caleb down beside the portal. He groaned as they released his arms, cradling them close to his chest.

“Ugh, no more carrying me around,” he demanded, rubbing his shoulder as he tried to stretch it out.

“Well unless you want us to order a giant baby carrier, that’s your only option,” said Irma. “Or maybe you’d rather us start running from the bad guys from now.”

Caleb glared at her but chose not to say anything, making her chuckle smugly.

“Phew, I’m glad that’s over,” Will breathed, summoning the Heart of Kandrakar, and returning them to human form with a flash. She knelt down by the manhole cover/portal entrance and extended the Heart. The portal flashed and lightning crackled as it spun away into nothingness.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

It was almost a thirty minute walk back to the Silver Dragon to pick up their things. As they walked, Serena felt a sense of foreboding welling inside her. She had left her phone in her backpack, so she had no knowing what time it was. However, she knew that it was way passed 7pm. Hopefully, Bromwell wouldn’t be too upset with her.

When they reached the corner hosting the Silver Dragon, she noticed that the downstairs lights were still on. Walking up the front door, she peeked through the glass and saw that all the chairs had been stacked on top of the tables for the night. She felt the girls crowd in behind her as she scanned the room. She found Yan Lin sitting at the bar and blowing the steam away from a cup of tea. Serena knocked on the glass making her head shoot up. When she saw them at the door, she jumped off her stool and rushed over to unlock it.

They were hardly three feet in the door when Yan Lin reached out and grabbed her granddaughter by the shoulders, pulling her in for a fierce hug. “Where have you been?” she asked, mumbling into Hay Lin’s hair. “Your parents have been worried sick. Why were you gone so long?”

“Things got a little complicated,” Hay Lin answered as her grandma ushered them over to the bar. They took turns explaining what had happened, how their search for Caleb had ended up becoming a rescue mission. Caleb butted in here and there, his previous aggravation rearing its head, but he smiled faintly when they told him about the shopkeeper who had helped them.

After they had finished recounting their story, Yan Lin stared into the swirls of her teacup for a moment before turning to Caleb. “I understand that in your world, you may come and go as you please. But as long as you are a guest of my family, I must ask that you abide by our rules.”

“But-“ Caleb protested.

“No buts,” Yan Lin shook her head. “Whether you like it or not, these girls are part of the rebellion now. You must share your plans with them as you would the rebels on Meridian. You must all work together in harmony.”

Caleb looked like he wanted to argue but Yan Lin leveled him with a heavy gaze. He endured for a few seconds, eyes flickering between Yan Lin’s before he sighed and backed down. “Fine,” he spat, crossing his arms, and looking away.

Serena smirked as he pouted but quickly wiped it away and straightened up when Yan Lin turned to them. “And as for you six,” she wagged a disapproving finger, “I expect a phone call the next time you girls decide to cross dimensions. Those same rules apply to you as well,” she said resolutely, folding her hands into her sleeves.

The girls shifted sheepishly, muttering assurances that they would comply from now on.

Yan Lin looked at them each individually before nodding, satisfied they were sincere. “I suggest you girls call you parents, I’m sure they are worried about you as well.”

Serena’s eyes widened and she looked at the other girls before they all raced for the Lin’s foyer. She had completely forgotten that she was late for dinner. They burst through the kitchen doors, snatching up their backpacks from where’d they had discarded them when they first arrived. Serena ripped open her pocket and pulled out her phone. She flipped it open to reveal that the time was 11:13 and she had five missed calls from Bromwell scattered throughout the hours they had been gone. She swallowed hard when she saw that she also had a missed call from her mom and dad, respectively. She was doomed.

Toggling down, she took a shaky breath and pressed to redial Bromwell. The phone ringed only twice before he picked up. “Hello?”

“Hey Bromwell,” she said softly into the receiver.

“Serena where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you for hours! Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”

Serena winced, walking over to the corner of the room to lean against the wall. She knew he would be upset but she didn’t think he would be this angry. “I- um, I’m at Hay Lin’s,” she answered lowly, turning further into the corner. “I stopped by after the skate park and we ended up watching a movie. We accidentally fell asleep, I’m really sorry.”

“How did you not hear your phone ringing?” he demanded.

“Uh...” she turned and glanced around the room, but all of her friends were similarly engaged on their phones. “My battery died.”

“And the Lin’s didn’t have a phone charger? I’ve already called your parents and I was this close to calling the police!”

Her eyes started to get watery, she had never heard him so angry with her before. “I’m sorry Bromwell, it was an accident.” There was nothing else she could say to appease him. She couldn’t tell him the truth, that she had been off galivanting in another dimension. She was stuck.

“Are you still at the Lin’s?” he asked. “Stay there I’m coming to get you. Young lady you are in so much trouble when we get home.”

“Okay.” She replied monotonously, fighting to keeper her voice from wavering. She hung up the phone. Sniffing quietly, she turned around to face the others. Most of them were sitting dejectedly around the room, staring at the ground or something in front of them. Will was still on the phone, most likely with her mom. From the look on her face, Serena would say she was in the same boat as the rest of them. Will snapped her phone closed and let herself fall against the wall with a thump. Sliding to the floor, she wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head against them.

The six of them didn’t say a word as they waited for their respective parents to pick them up. Serena fiddled with a cuff button on her denim jacket and periodically pulled out her phone to check for a text from Bromwell. She had made sure her phone was on vibrate but she still didn’t want to risk missing another message.

She jumped when the kitchen doors suddenly swung open, but it was only Caleb. He stopped short when he saw their dismal expressions and slumped shoulder. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked insensitively.

Irma scoffed at his question. “We’ve all been grounded for saving your sorry butt,” she bit out.

“Hey!” He snapped, scowling at her. “I never wanted you to come in the first place so this one’s on you, not me.”

“Oh yeah?” Irma jumped up; fists clenched at her sides. “Well, your big blue friend would have been toast if we hadn’t been there. Didn’t your parents ever teach you to be grateful?”

Caleb stiffened, his face hardening as his eyes grew cold. “Both of my parents are dead, so no,” he replied flatly before storming over to the basement stairs and slamming the door shut on his way down.

Serena flinched at the loud bang. She and the others stared at Irma, who averted her eyes, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. “I- I didn’t know he...,” she swallowed hard.” I didn’t mean to-“ she was cut off as her phone let out a beep. She flipped it open, reading the text before leaning down and scooping up her backpack. “My mom’s here,” she announced solemnly. “I’ll see you guys at school.” A few of the girls mumbled goodbye as she disappeared through the kitchen doors.

Serena nodded absentmindedly in farewell as she stared vacantly at a crack in the tile floor. She felt bad for Irma, there was no way they could have known Caleb was an orphan. He wasn’t exactly the most forthcoming with rebellion or personal information. She couldn’t help but feel guilty though. She may have been upset with her parents for choosing to work away from home but at least she still had them. They texted her every few days, asking how school was going and what she’d been up to. They also had a joint Skype call every Wednesday night, so it wasn’t as if they‘d completely left her behind. She couldn’t imagine what she’d do if they were suddenly gone forever. She didn’t want to. No wonder Caleb didn’t like them, they lives must have seemed perfect compared to what he’d been through.

Her phone buzzed, startling her out of her thought. She whipped it out, flipping it open so hard that the hinge went convex for a second.

From Bromwell: “I’m out front”  
Sent: 11:57pm

“See you tomorrow,” she mumbled to the remaining girls as she shouldered her backpack and grabbed her skateboard. Not waiting for a response, she headed for the front door. As she walked through the dim restaurant, she caught a glimpse of Yan Lin folding and stacking tablecloths in a pile. The old woman nodded at her sympathetically. Serena gave her a weak smile in response before walking out and sliding into the car waiting by the curb. She caught Bromwell looking at her from the rear view mirror from the corner of her eye but kept her head down.

Bromwell pulled away and the car was filled with a tense silent as Serena waited for him to speak. Additional scolding, a reassurance, she didn’t know what she wanted. She just wanted him to say something.

“You should call your parents,” he finally suggested, his voice stern.

The tears she had been holding back began to run down her face as she nodded and flipped open her phone. Finding her parents contacts, she pressed the button for a joint call. She told them the same thing she had told Bromwell, that she had accidentally fallen asleep at Hay Lin’s, but they were just as upset as he had been. They berated her on responsibility and family expectations. ‘She couldn’t just run around the city silly nilly,’ were her mother’s words. She wiped away tears as soon as they fell, making sure to keep quiet as the they deliberated on her punishment. One week’s grounding was what they decided on. No phone and no leaving home to go anywhere except for school. Bromwell would be picking her up from school as well so no walking or skateboarding home with her friends.

After they hung up, Serena leaned her head against the window and worked to keep her breathing steady as she willed herself to stop crying. She rubbed her nose on her shirt sleeve, trying to ignore the lump that was building in her throat. It was all so unfair, but what could she do? She couldn’t tell them the truth as to why she’d been MIA for so long. They wouldn’t believe her anyways. They’d probably be even more angry, thinking she was lying to them. Not that she wasn’t lying already. She really was sorry that she had worried Bromwell and her parents so much. She didn’t want them to be upset with her, but the situation was out of her control. And yet there she was, still suffering the consequence despite the fact that she had done a good deed, saving Vathic.

When they pulled into the Silver Plaza’s underground garage Serena jumped out of the car as soon as Bromwell killed the engine. Making a beeline for the elevator, she sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes to make sure it didn’t look like she’d been crying. Keeping her gaze fixed on the marble interior of the elevator, she watched him out of the corner of her eye as they rode to the lobby. Every sense was tuned in to try and get a clue as to how he felt. Unfortunately, it seemed like he was just as determined to hide his emotional state as she was.

When they stepped out of the other elevator at the apartment, he cleared his throat and requested her phone. The ache in her throat came back tenfold at his impassive voice and blinking rapidly, she dug out her phone and handed it to him. She turned to run away to her room when he placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. The dam broke and the tears she had tried so hard to repress came back in full force. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, rocking her gently as she sobbed into his crisp button up.

“I’m sorry,” she cried.

“I know,” he replied softly, rubbing her head comfortingly.

Eventually her crying dissolved into hiccupping breaths. Bromwell patted her back and kissed the top of her head before releasing her. “Alright now, off to bed with you.”

Serena sniffed, pulling away to see the tear stains she had left on his shirt and nodded. Admittedly she did feel a little better as she walked back to her room and put on her white silk sleep tank and shorts. Of course, being grounded still sucked but at least Bromwell wasn’t angry with her anymore.

Crawling under her duvet, she forced herself to close her eyes. She still had to get up for school tomorrow and she didn’t want her inevitable exhaustion to be any worse. But something was buzzing at the back of her brain, making her feel like she was forgetting something important. When nothing came to mind, she elected to ignore it, focusing on the black of her eyelids and the hum of traffic outside. She was just starting to feel the heaviness that came with falling asleep when it hit her, her eyes bursting open. Aww man, she thought as she rolled over. Luke and Austin were going to kill her.

**Author's Note:**

> check out my deviantart for Serena's outfits and fanart.  
> https://www.deviantart.com/crocgirl9219


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